


The Feathered Prince

by va_bites



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Kris Allen (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Swan Lake, American Idol - RPS, Animal Transformation, Curses, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fantasy, M/M, Princes & Princesses, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-03
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-21 23:44:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/906362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/va_bites/pseuds/va_bites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Kristopher and Prince Adam each have a dilemma which conveniently solves the other. When both young men meet, the path ahead seems all too simple; but the stakes are often high in the quest for 'happily ever after'. This is a fairy tale with a Kradam-y twist, based on the story of 'Swan Lake'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We Could Be Heroes

_The great bulk of the dragon twisted and heaved as it belched black smoke at its assailants, too weak and injured to spout the flames of destruction that had cowed many a great knight._

_"My King! Now!!" cried Sir Cale, his gleaming sword wedged in the lizard's tail, preventing it from crawling back into its fiery lair._

_King Kristopher the Awesome mounted his fearless steed and charged. His gleaming lance met the soft, unprotected spot on the dragon's chest and plunged deep, piercing the heart. The monster howled long and loud, seized, then lay still._

_The King grinned at his best knight and raised his fist, triumphant. "Your day is done, foul beast!" he announced to the dead beast, "No more will you plague my kingdom! No more will my people live in fear. Sir Cale, let us return home to deliver the good news to my mo-"_

"There you are, dear!" came the voice of his mother as she stepped over the grass with her skirts lifted, accompanied by four of her attendants. "What are you doing so near the gates, in the dark? There may be snakes amongst these trees!"

"It is the snakes who should fear me now!" Kris crowed, "Sir Cale and I have slain the dastardly lizard! Arkanseld is safe!"

The Queen chuckled at her son's antics. "Well, it's almost time for bed, brave warriors."

Kris lowered the broomstick that served as his lance and stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "Aww, Mother! Just another hour?"

"No more for tonight, Kristopher. You and Cale may play again tomorrow."

A pained groan drew the company's attention to a shape on the ground, covered in an artfully tailored sack with twigs sticking out of its head. The Queen held her golden curls in place and bent slightly to lift its coarse hood. "Oh, Charles, is that you? Your father is searching for you as well. Hurry now, all of you have lessons in the morning."

Kris and Cale removed the old pots on their heads with a sigh and helped Charles to his feet. As the Queen headed back to the castle, they trailed behind, dragging their makeshift playthings with them. "You alright, Charles?" whispered Kris.

"I don't wanna be your dragon, or bear, or whatever you feel like poking to death anymore," Charles grumbled, rubbing gingerly at a darkening bruise on his plump belly, "You don't even know how to aim for the heart, which is _not_  my stomach. One day, you two are gonna slay me for real."

"But you're the _bestest_  dragon!" Kris protested, "And if you aren't our dragon, what are my knight and I gonna slay?"

"Maybe next time we can be wizards, and magick the dragon to death," offered Cale, "Mom has this basket of leftover ribbons we can throw at him-"

Charles made a gagging noise. "Blergh! Ribbons are for little girls!!"

"Yeah!" Kris agreed, "'Sides, I like to deal with dragons the old-fashioned way." Chuckling, he jabbed Charles with the end of his hobbyhorse, making the larger boy double over.

"You're lucky you're all high and mighty," wheezed Charles, "Or we'd make you the shortest dragon ever..."

"You wish. You aren't even- hey. HEY!"

Kris spent the rest of the way back to the castle trying to climb on top of Charles, with Cale trying to keep both from doing any serious 'slaying' of each other.

All too soon, playtime was really over, as Cale and Charles had to head to the servants' quarters and Kris to his chambers. Still carrying his pot-helmet, Kris followed his mother through the candlelit hallway, both of them treading lightly past the room of his younger brother, Prince Daniel, so as not to wake the sleeping youngster.

Entering Kris's bedroom, they were greeted as usual by a large tapestry of a noble king astride a rearing white horse, squaring off against a ferocious fire-breathing dragon.

"Mom," Kris spoke up, using his more affectionate address for the Queen now that they were alone, "When I grow up, I wanna be a big, strong hero. Then I can stay up all night slaying wicked beasts and rescuing damsels."

"I have no doubt you will be," the Queen assured him as she took his grimy playclothes from him, "But little heroes need to sleep early if they are to grow up big and strong."

"I guess so..." The young prince dipped his toes hesitantly into his bathtub, and then slid in, finding its temperature to his liking. He sighed as the coal-warmed water soothed his tired body. When he looked up, he saw the Queen worrying at her skirt with her fingers, as she often did when she was distressed. "What's wrong, Mom?"

The Queen immediately released the crinkled material. "Oh, I do wish your father were here... We've received a message via eagle from his old friend, King Eber of the Sunstone Kingdom. They are preparing for battle, and they need our help."

"Father would know what to do! 'Sides, he should be back any time now!"

"I don't know, darling. These great quests can take a very long time... but I have sent our best knights and soldiers to their aid. Hopefully, by the end of tomorrow, we will have good news."

"I'm sure we will," Kris said confidently, splashing his bathwater for emphasis, "There's _nothing_  Father's army can't beat."

Despite herself, the Queen smiled. Her eldest son's optimism was infectious. "Of course. Now, let us put that worry out of our minds, since it is out of our hands. Would you like to hear a story?"

Kris's face lighted up immediately. "Yes, please! I want to hear about the knights of legend!"

"How about Sir John and the magical walrus?"

"Naw. I never understood that one. But I don't think I'll ever get tired of 'The Thrilling Ballad of Sir Michael'!"

The Queen pulled up a chair to sit next to the tub. "You shall hear it, then."

Kris picked up his washcloth and started scrubbing at the dirt on his arms, but he was bright-eyed and all ears as the Queen began:

" _Hear ye now the tale I tell,_  
 _Of restless bones and creatures fell,_  
 _And of Sir Michael lyric-strong,_  
 _Who conquered evil with a song..._ "

 


	2. Sun and Shadow

Young Allison ran towards the town square, carrying a bread basket half as big as she was. There would be songs and storytelling at the market fair soon, and she didn't want to miss a moment of it. In her excitement, she missed the cobblestone jutting out of the ground which caught her shoe and tripped her, sending her basket tumbling as she fell.

She glared petulantly through her fiery hair at the scattered loaves around her, feeling pain beginning to spike in her left knee. Despite her valiant efforts to appear unaffected, her eyes began to sting.

"It's alright, little girl. Your breads are fine," came a low, gentle voice from next to Allison, "Though, you might wanna shave the crust off before eating them. You hurt?"

Allison looked up into a pair of warm brown eyes in a face that was otherwise carefully concealed by a hood and scarf. She frowned distrustfully at the masked stranger for a moment, but her senses told her that he was harmless. "My knee hurts," she said finally, pulling up her skirts a little to look at her scuffed kneecap.

The stranger made a little humming sound as he studied the bruise. "It hurts now, but the skin's not broken, so it's not too bad. In fact, it should go away in a couple of days, but you've gotta be careful. No more crazy running around, alright? Here's your bread." He handed Allison back her basket, neatly filled with the retrieved loaves.

Allison wiped her face with the back of her hand and gave the stranger a broad grin. "Thanks, Mister. Why are you all covered up like that, anyway? Aren't you warm?"

The stranger glanced from side to side, as if somebody might be listening in on them. "I'm actually an adventurer from a faraway land," he whispered, "And I'm here on really important, secret business. Shh, don't tell anyone. I trust you on this, little girl."

Allison pursed her lips skeptically at him. "Sure... Are you coming to hear the storytellers? They're amazing."

"I'll catch up. You have fun, now."

The hooded man watched the little girl go on her way, walking briskly but minding her step. He did not notice the large figure coming up right behind him. A great guffaw in his ear made him jump in surprise.

"'No more crazy running around', he says!!" chortled a jolly voice, "Should we also clean our teeth after eating the candy apples so they won't fall out, Granny Kris?!"

"Keep it down, Charles!" hissed Kris, his gaze darting about anxiously, "You gonna let everyone know I'm here? How did you even know it was me??"

"Please!" Charles snorted, scratching his neat beard, "Not only is that the scarf Cale's momma knitted you, but no other grown man in the kingdom is that short."

Kris narrowed his eyes at the palace's Chief Cook. "Now that's getting really old. Don't you have better things to do than trying to blow my cover?"

Charles shouldered his sack of choice mushrooms and fell into step beside Kris. "I know where you're going! You're gonna loiter about the Storytelling Tree and pretend you're not listening to fairy tales, and then you're gonna eat plums until you get sick! And when you're done with that, you're gonna sing sappy love songs you wrote yourself to a bunch of grannies."

"Well, I have news for you," Kris folded his arms, "That's the distant past. I'm a man now, and I'm done with living in fantasies. Besides, they're not 'fairy tales', they're  _legends_  that actually happened. Well, half of them, anyway. And my songs are _not_  sappy."

"Ah! But what is this great manhood you speak of, my dear Kristopher? It seems to involve an awful lot of sitting around all day with Cale in some isolated part of the castle, strumming your lute and writing stuff you know nothing about."

Feeling a stab of annoyance, Kris looked sharply at Charles. "If you're going to start on that again, you tedious nag, I'm not gonna talk to you. You should just be happy that I've found something I'm actually good at. I'm sorry I'm not out there, saving the known world like my father and all those other heroes. Maybe Daniel's gonna do those things someday, but not me."

Charles raised his free hand in apology, his usually mischievous eyes suddenly solemn. "Hey, don't get upset. I'm happy if you're happy. I mean, saving the world's not everyone's thing, but I just know you're so much more than some idle prince. I still believe in you, you know, even if you don't anymore."

Kris's expression softened, and he placed a hand on Charles's broad shoulder. "Idle?" he smiled, "The musical arts are hardly an idle field. Maybe someday I'll end up writing the greatest song that's ever been, and you'll eat those words, my friend. And I'm sorry I snapped at you. I don't suppose you'd have time to join me at the fair?"

"There be meals to prepare, and a bunch of pea-brains who might confuse the tart filling with the stew if I'm not there to watch them. Go on and enjoy yourself, Mister Secret Identity."

Kris waved after Charles and turned to enter the square, but froze at the shrill sound of chirping and tittering from above. In dread, he forced his gaze upward to the colourful bunting that hung over his path.

Its cord was fully occupied by a row of magpies and pigeons that stared right down at him with beady little eyes as they conspired with one another, no doubt preparing to bombard him with droppings should he dare to walk under them.

Throwing something to scatter them was not an option. If he should arouse their wrath, there were far too many of them to ensure a successful escape. He pulled his hood and cloak tightly around himself, feinted to the left, and dashed past the bunting.

Once he estimated he was at a safe distance, he looked himself over to make sure he did not get hit. Some paces behind, the row of birds remained where they were, seemingly oblivious to his stealthy getaway.

Having passed that hurdle unscathed (and clean), he released the breath that he had been holding and allowed himself to soak up the view of the town square, which was vibrant with banners of all shapes and sizes. Its edges were lined with packed stalls selling Arkanseld's best food, fresh produce, and craft. His festively-dressed people milled about, cheerfully browsing, buying and haggling. He smiled broadly under his scarf.

Amidst the bustle, Kris's attention was drawn to a finely made lute amongst a variety of musical instruments. Making his way to the stall, he lifted the beautiful item and ran his fingers over the dark, polished wood and its bold red embellishments. He gave it an experimental strum, and found that he liked how its sound seemed to caress his ears.

When he paid the stallkeeper for it, she was rather alarmed by the amount of money he gave her, but eventually gathered enough change from her fellow merchants to return to him. Kris left happy with his purchase and strolled on, following the delicious smell of roasted fowl.

In the middle of the neatly-paved square, a wonderfully shady tree with bright yellow flowers stood in a patch of bare ground. Its branches were hung with colourful streamers for the day, and under it sat an old gypsy woman with bells on her shawl, and a group of children listening intently to the story she was telling.

The first thing that came to Kris's mind was that it had been a long time since he last allowed himself to immerse in a bit of good local yarn. Curiosity and eagerness would have made him hurry right up to the Storytelling Tree and join the gypsy's young audience, but he quickly shut those feelings down in favour of acting like the grown-up he just told Charles he was.

He turned his thoughts to pacifying his rumbling stomach with a meal of wild quail and rosemary potatoes, but there was something compelling in the gypsy's manner of speech that kept him rooted to the spot and hanging on to her every word, despite himself. In fact, she held her entire audience spellbound, mimicking noises and voices, gesturing grandly with her weathered arms.

As Kris listened on, memories of a childhood left behind came flooding back, as did the familiar tale.

His mother never told this one to him. He understood why.

Beyond the walls of Arkanseld and across the rolling fields lay Darkbough Forest, a sprawling old woodland where trees as tall as towers blocked out the sun. It was said to have been beautiful once, in a time out of living memory; but since then had made its reputation as a foreboding and dangerous place.

In the heart of this forest lived an ageless entity known as Malady, who fled there in exile many lifetimes ago and made it her home. The common folk called her a sorceress, though she was no mortal magic-worker. The Wise Men speculated that she was a daughter of Mother Nature, from whom she drew her power over the land and its inhabitants. The poets claimed that she was birthed from the union of thought, feeling, and belief. Perhaps all three schools of thought were somewhat correct, but likely the truth of it would always remain a mystery to the mortal mind.

Like Darkbough, Malady was not always hostile; but rejection, solitude, and bitterness had turned her very soul black as night. The sheltering forest that separated her from the cruel world became like a child to her. It was the only thing on Earth that she ever truly loved, and as with such beings as her who give themselves completely to the places they call home, her great power became intrinsically bound to its soil.

This was all very well, for those of her kind who never form that essential bond roam aimless and unchecked through the world, eventually turning wild and deeply dangerous. Darkbough Forest was Malady's anchor, and she guarded her beloved charge so fiercely that no one dared venture into those woods, fearing for life and limb. Still, left unbothered, she caused no harm to anyone.

It was for the unfortunate Sunstone Kingdom to find out that Malady's wrath was most cruel if she were ever to be crossed.

This vibrant and remarkable place, named for the luminous rocks once found in its depths, shared the same soil as Darkbough Forest and was bordered closely on the east and south by its trees. Nine years ago, a farmer's ill luck began a ferocious crop fire that spread beyond his fields and into the woods. The fire devoured all in its path, and would have razed that great forest to the ground if its rampage had not been ended by a downpour of rain that lasted all through the night.

When Malady returned to the charred remains of her precious forest, her grief was so terrible that the very ground trembled. She avenged herself by sweeping into the kingdom by night and spiriting away every young child, including King Eber and Queen Leila's two beloved sons.

Angered, King Eber led his soldiers deep into what was left of the forest to rescue the children, but the trees themselves came alive to meet them in battle. Badly battered and desperate, King Eber sent word to Queen Kimberly of Arkanseld - the wife of his ally King Neil - for aid.

The good Queen sent out her best soldiers, but when they arrived at the Sunstone Kingdom, they found nobody there. The houses stood dark and silent, and everywhere there were twisted pillars of rock as tall and wide as the men themselves.

Searching every street and each house, they realized that Malady had done something truly terrible. She had cursed every living creature in the kingdom to become cold, lifeless stone. No one, from the King himself to the lowliest peasant, was spared that awful fate - not even the animals.

Time and again Arkanseld's knights and soldiers battled the enchantments of Darkbough Forest, seeking to destroy Malady and break the curse, but it was a lost cause. For though Malady appeared as a beautiful human woman, she was a being born of forces beyond mortal comprehension - powerful even amongst her own kind, and could not be harmed by any weapon if she so chose.

The brave warriors employed every tool and strategy they could afford to, but as long as Malady stood on the soil of her homeland, her power seemed to have no limits. Eventually, even the most headstrong of the knights admitted defeat, and the dejected army returned home with their dead and injured.

For many days afterward, the people of Arkanseld feared retribution for their bold attack, but it did not come. Perhaps they lay beyond the reach of Malady's devastating magic. Or, perhaps, she possessed some measure of mercy.

In the time that followed, the cursed kingdom became known as Blackstone, after its silent and still inhabitants. The charred stumps of Darkbough Forest flourished again under its guardian's watchful eye, its trees growing thick and high like the walls of a fortress.

The two princes and the other lost children of Sunstone were not seen again since that fateful night they were stolen from their beds.

The old gypsy woman ended the tale. The children at her feet sat in cheerless silence, some of them grasping each other's hands for comfort. Kris found himself back in the present as the lively sounds of the fair returned to him. He felt a faint but poignant pang of sorrow, and an aching emptiness in his heart.

 _Well done, Kristopher,_  he thought to himself, _That's what you get for standing around, listening to depressing old ladies._

"Is there another story?" A tiny girl right in front asked the gypsy, no doubt hoping for something a little more uplifting.

The gypsy smiled, her swarthy face wrinkling abundantly. Kris thought that she might have winked at him, but it was hard to tell. "Of course there is, my dear," she told the little girl kindly, "I do have another tale to tell of that forest. A tale of a young raven-haired prince cursed to spend his days roaming the shadowy paths of Darkbough in the form of a beautiful bird, and only take human form by night..."

Kris decided at that point that he was done with the gypsy woman - it seemed like every other person in the region had their own unique 'account' of what had happened to those poor lost Sunstone children, with the elder prince being their favourite object of speculation. Kris personally found those stories silly and exploitative - opportunities for their various 'witnesses' to garner themselves some attention. And all of that was besides the fact that birds were just unnerving, awful creatures out to get him.

Kris loved ( _correction_  - used _to love,_  he reminded himself) tales of the fantastic as much as anyone else, but had learned to separate fact from fancy; and not waste his energy and hopes on the latter. And there were dozens of fancies about who or what dwelled in Darkbough Forest. Most of them hardly made any sense, even if there were dragons in the mountains and ancient bears that sometimes spoke in human tongues.

Put all the rumours and nonsense together, and Darkbough Forest must be an interesting place indeed.

The merry sounds of fiddles and flutes proved a welcome distraction, and Kris followed them away from the gypsy woman and her tales to where a circle of young women in flower garlands and pretty dresses were dancing a popular ode to spring. He knew this piece, and before he could stop himself, he slung his new lute and began to play along. The other musicians welcomed him with a cheer, and as Kris allowed himself to get caught up in the melody and rhythm, he felt complete.

Simple vexation did not begin to describe how Kris felt when a strong hand grabbed his arm and turned him around to meet the worried countenance of his closest friend and squire, Cale, who said quite loudly: "Thank goodness! I've been looking all over for you, Kris!"

" _How_  do you all know it's me?!" Kris groaned, exasperated, "This had better be good, or I'm gonna-"

Kris's words left him when he realized that the scarf covering his face had slipped off. A hush fell over the nearby crowd for just a moment, before a murmur of excited voices rose.

"Prince Kristopher...?"

"It _is_  him!"

"My Prince!"

Kris winced slightly and helped a woman to her feet as she dropped to her knees before him, setting off a chain of motion as the people around him began to bow or curtsey deeply. "No, no... there's really no need... Everyone, you really don't have to do that..."

Cale tugged at his arm again, pulling him away from the crowd. "Kris, we have to go! The Queen has something really important to tell you!"

"I should think so," Kris growled through his forced smile as he waved goodbye to the townsfolk, "You've completely ruined a day I planned to spend out here, unrecognized and having a really good time..."

"I'm so sorry, Kris, but you _need_  to hear what she has to say." Cale stopped at a large trough full of hay where a few horses were feeding peacefully. He led out the two finest-looking ones, and swung a long leg over his chestnut gelding.

Kris shook his head and approached his spotted mare, careful not to scratch his new lute as he clambered onto her sturdy back. "Fine, but you owe me. Let's go, Camellia." With a gentle tug of the reins, Kris turned about and headed for home.

======

As he rode uphill to the main gate of the castle, Kris lowered his hood to reveal his face and short but slightly unruly brown hair. The guards looked surprised that he had gone out without them knowing about it, and that gave Kris some smug consolation as he nodded a friendly greeting to them. Still looking puzzled, they drew up the portcullis to allow Kris in.

It was not that he was unfamiliar with this part of his home, despite being quite evasive about how he exited the grounds lately, but for some reason today, he stopped to gaze at the cluster of trees just by the wall to his right.

They were a small type of pine, but their needles grew in rich sprays of dark green. Once upon a time, they did not seem so small.

"Our favourite place when we were children; you, me, Charles, and Dan. What adventures we had there, in our very own patch of forest!"

Kris woke from a vague daydream and turned to give Cale a wry look. "You gonna get sentimental on me, now?"

Cale shrugged and gave a little smile that often sent the young maidservants a-tittering. "We write songs. We're always a little sentimental, even if we want to act otherwise."

"Hmm..." Kris regarded his friend closely until the other man began to fiddle with his cape.

Chuckling, he dismounted and handed his mare's reins to Cale. "I'll tell you what you can do for me. You can get Camellia a nice apple. I'm still mad at you, by the way."

"You wound me, Kris!" Cale struck his breast dramatically with his fist, but quickly sobered. "Oh, and... good luck with your Mom."

Kris frowned in puzzlement as Cale went on his way to the stable with the two horses. Perhaps the Queen had somehow found out about his trips to town? As he walked through the neat courtyard with its many fountains and into halls of white and gold, he strategized his infallible negotiation. With the King still absent and danger lurking in the great beyond, she was understandably protective of Kris and his younger brother, but surely a few anonymous visits to town fairs and festivals could do no harm.

Intending to change into something more befitting his status - but nothing too fancy - Kris hurriedly entered his room. He did not expect to find his mother waiting in his armchair, gazing at the large old tapestry of his father battling the dragon.

Quietly, he hid his new lute under the blankets before she turned to look at him.

She stood with a brief smile, and Kris thanked his lucky stars that she did not seem to be paying attention to his commoner's attire. He straightened up and approached her. "You wanted to speak to me, Mom?"

"Yes, darling. It is a matter of... duty," the Queen said tentatively, because she knew that Kris's least favourite topics were those related to duty - and as Crown Prince of Arkanseld, he had a generous share of it. This one, in particular, had to be dealt with quite delicately. "As you know, we will be hosting a grand ball in three days' time."

Ah, yes. _That_  ball - the one to welcome the first day of summer, as well celebrate his seventeenth birthday.

"Alright..." Kris tried to keep his expression agreeable and interested. Being the focus of any celebration, nice as it sounded, meant that he would be having the least fun. His last birthday ball was certainly very tedious. If he had to endure being practically interrogated by a gaggle of curious foreign nobles again...

"It will be the grandest affair we have hosted since your brother was born. I have already sent out invitations to royalty near and far," continued the Queen, watching her son carefully as she resolutely kept from twisting the ribbons adorning her dress.

The sense of discomfort in the pit of Kris's stomach was not getting any better, and he had a strong feeling that he knew what his mother was trying to tell him. Pursing his lips, he met her gaze steadily. "Mom, I told you - I'm not ready. We've already talked about this."

The Queen let out a sigh. There was no easy way to break the news to her beloved son after all. "I know, my dearest. I don't wish to force it upon you, but it is something that you must do, now that you are of age. It has been a strict custom since the beginning of each known kingdom in this land."

"I'm aware of that, Mom," Kris said slowly, trying to quell the thumping of his heart, "But I just can't picture myself going through with it. I just don't feel _right_  about it."

"I was afraid and uncertain, too, when I first met your father-"

"We were supposed to wait until Father came home!" Kris cut in.

"But he is not yet home! It has been nine long years, and still, all we hear of him are rumours of his deeds in faraway lands..." the Queen's voice faltered slightly as she fought those all-too-familiar tears, but she quickly composed herself. "I promised to let you wait a year since you turned sixteen, and I have done that. I cannot make such a delay again."

Kris ran a hand through his hair, roughly tugging at it. "Whom have you chosen?" he asked gruffly.

"I want _you_  to choose, Kristopher. I thought it best that way. I have requested the attendance of every eligible royal that I know of at the ball..." She looked at him meaningfully, "Princes, as well."

Kris stared at the floor, unmoved.

"Should you choose to marry a prince, I will not pressure you into fathering an heir," the Queen reassured him quickly, "I know what a difficult business it can be, what with all the complex magic involved and finding a suitable surrogate, but I'm sure that between your brother and yourself-"

"What if I don't like any of them?" Kris burst out, "I can't rule a kingdom and spend the rest of my life with someone I don't even like! And what if Daniel can't ever have children, just like Cousin Wren?? What if it falls to me to raise an heir with whoever I end up marrying? I... I just can't!"

The Queen took his hands in hers gently, her eyes beseeching. "Do give them a chance. You can't be so certain if you've never met any of them. Don't close your heart."

"My heart isn't closed. It's just..." Kris stepped away, suddenly feeling dizzy and craving fresh air. He struggled to find something to say that would make his mother feel better, but found nothing. Knowing at the back of his mind that he would feel terrible about it later, he let his feet carry him out of the room and walk him blindly through the palace.

When the fog clouding his thoughts had lifted a little, Kris found himself standing purposelessly next to a merrily bubbling fountain near the castle stables. Groaning softly, he rested his forehead in his palm. The announcement was tough for them both - but while his poor mother did try all she could to soften the blow, he had reacted by being uncharacteristically rude, selfish, and pessimistic. But what if he was right about everything...?

A low coo drew his gaze to a large grey pigeon perched alone on the edge of the fountain's pool. It cocked its head sideways at him and excreted a pale, watery dropping.

Kris scowled. _It's just you and me now, bird..._

He stared hard into its soulless black eyes, and it stared right back.

He took a threatening step forward, and the bird clicked its dirty long claws on the stone basin before taking flight right towards his face. Panic seized him and he flung his arms up to protect his eyes. "ARGH! NO! Go away!!"

He felt feathers graze the top of his head. With his heart receding slowly from his throat, he peered up to see the pigeon fly onto the palace roof and shook his fist at it. "You stupid-!"

Prince Daniel bemusedly watched his elder brother yell curses at the sky. "Are you alright, man?" he called, shouldering his quiver and closing their distance across the paved ground.

"These birds!! They're only good for eating, I tell you. Shoot that one down! Shoot it!!" Kris pointed vehemently at the tiny grey speck stalking up and down the rain gutter.

Daniel looked up and squinted against what light remained in the cloudy afternoon sky, then gave Kris's incredibly tense shoulder a squeeze. "Seriously, big brother? Whatever's bothering you for real... it must be pretty bad."

Kris nodded, slumping slightly. "I really need to clear my head. I've probably upset Mom, too, but I just can't talk to her right now."

The younger prince inclined his closely-cropped head in understanding, his eyes bright as always with the light of intelligence and ambition - the same light often seen in the eyes of youths who someday became great men. "The rest of us are here, if you want to talk to us."

"Thanks, Dan," Kris managed a smile and glanced at the stables. "Say, what are the odds of any goods wagons passing through today?"

"I can think of one that'll be leaving pretty soon..." Daniel winked knowingly and tugged at Kris's elbow, "Come on!"

Not more than half an hour later, Torres, the castle's primary deliveryman, drove a large covered wagon past the main gate, humming cheerfully to himself.

As soon as the wagon had left the castle grounds and cleared the sight of the gate guards, Camellia sprang out of the supposedly empty vehicle with Kris astride her. He trotted to the front to address his complicit driver. "Thanks for making this extra trip, Torres. What would I do without you?"

"Something desperate, but innovative nonetheless," Torres grinned through the long, curly locks that escaped his ponytail, "'Sides, I wouldn't mind seeing the orange farmer's daughter again. Take care of yourself, my Prince."

"Always. I'll see you around!"

Kris raised his hood and set off at a robust gallop, away from duties and expectations, trusting to the wind to guide his direction.


	3. Birds of a Feather

After some time, Kris drew his thoughts back to the present and found that he was farther from the castle than he had ever been before on his own. Even the town, still busy with the tail-end of the market fair, was some distance behind him now. He was surrounded by crop fields and orchards of all kinds, dotted with the occasional cottage, barn, or mill.

Seeing no one about, Kris dropped his hood and revelled in the wind sweeping through his hair and sending his cloak billowing. The air out here was incredibly fresh and free, and he fancied he caught the whiff of a nearby lavender garden amidst the smell of greenery - and rain.

The sky rumbled faintly, and Kris frowned at the fast-approaching rainclouds looming above and casting the land into shade. This was hardly fair. He was just beginning to enjoy himself, and he was nowhere ready to return home and face his quandaries.

Reluctantly, Kris picked up the reins with the intention to hide in one of the barns and explain himself later. He did not expect a massive bolt of lightning to come out of nowhere, splitting the sky and ending in a nearby tree, rending it to the core with a deafening crack.

Camellia whinnied in fright and reared up, nearly throwing Kris off her back. Before he could do a thing to comfort her, the mare bolted, tearing down the road in mindless terror.

Kris yelled against the wind for Camellia to stop, but all his commands and pleading fell on ears deafened by panic. Large drops of rain blew into his face, getting in his eyes and mouth. He shut both and hung on for his life, because that was all he could do as the storm broke and hammered relentlessly down on him.

It seemed too long before Kris found respite from the onslaught of wind and water, instead feeling the slap of cold, wet leaves against his skin. Daring to open his eyes, he saw the tall and sturdy shapes of tree trunks whipping by him as Camellia ran. Everything was covered in a shadow too dark to merely be of a storm, and that shadow seemed to bend and shift about the trees, playing tricks on his eyes.

At last, Camellia ground to a halt before a huge fallen tree that blocked her path, and began turning in distressed circles, stomping the carpet of leaves with her hooves.

It took some time for Kris to soothe her enough that he was able to dismount. He stumbled on the uneven ground, worn out and disorientated by the ride. "That's it, girl. It's alright now," he murmured, stroking the panting mare's damp muzzle.

The storm roared and raged on, but, looking up, Kris saw a thick canopy of leaves that shielded him from the worst of it. Still, enough rain flowed through that it continued to drip down on him, sending chills right to his bones.

Kris weighed his options. He could find some kind of shelter here, in the uncanny woods, to wait for the skies to clear and get some rest before heading home. Or, he could go back out into the storm right then and seek out a barn where it was familiar, and then head home.

Both options involved actually finding a way home, because he was quite lost at the moment. There was no end to the dense undergrowth and towering trees that he could see - this was most certainly a forest. And the prospect of a blind search through a dripping forest only to catch his death in torrents of freezing water outside - assuming he did find his way outside in his current condition - was not appealing.

Guessing his general whereabouts was easy, after all that. There was only one forest in those parts that Kris knew of, so there was no doubt in his mind where he had ended up. He groaned and turned back to his fidgeting mare.

"Nice work, Camellia," he snorted, "Some fearless steed you are. If we run into some horrifying beast of legend in here, I hope it eats you first."

Camellia let out a pitiful neigh.

"I'm just joking, girl. They're only rumours, anyway. Imagination and paranoia. The biggest stories come from people who haven't even been in here. 'Sides, it doesn't seem so bad. Looks creepy, but it's hardly _that_  evil. Come on now, no good standing around," Kris led his mare through the brush, shivering and sore all over, knowing quite well that he was reassuring himself more than anyone else.

As they stepped over roots, stones, and unusual little plants, Camellia grunted and tugged at her reins as if this were the last place she wanted to be.

"I know, girl," Kris replied, dragging his feet through the wet leaves, "You're tired and cold, I'm tired and cold. But if we don't move, we won't-"

He caught himself before he stepped on a squirrel with a huge bushy tail standing right in his path. Camellia's head bumped into his back, nearly toppling him over.

"Move, you," Kris told the squirrel, waving a hand listlessly at it, "Unless you can find us somewhere dry to rest, you're in the way."

The creature studied him with large, bright eyes. Just as Kris was beginning to get an odd sense that he was being sized up, it scampered ahead a few paces before stopping to look at him again.

Kris was about to mutter something about animals having a problem with him lately, when the squirrel repeated its actions, moving forward another few paces and then jerking its head to the right like a human would to indicate direction, chirping insistently.

He moved closer, staring incredulously at the squirrel. What was odd was that the little creature did not seem to 'fit' the dim and subdued hues of its surroundings, standing out instead in its rich golden-brown fur. And it was wearing a tiny necklace made out of little alternating seeds and nutshells. Kris blinked hard in disbelief. "Are you serious, now??"

The squirrel chirped louder still and pointed to the right again with its front paws.

Kris took a moment to assess how evil the accessorized squirrel might be. This _was_  the notorious Darkbough Forest, after all. Finding nothing particularly menacing about it, he shook his head and urged Camellia on after the bouncing bushy tail. "Alright, fine. But you better not make me regret this- oh."

Ahead of them, a solitary mass of overgrown rock stood ten feet high above the rest of the ground, as if a giant had simply lifted it out of the earth with all its trees and shrubs still atop it. Under a great tangle of old roots was a gaping cavity in the face of the rock.

Kris threw up his arms in relief, but still ventured forward with caution to make sure the cavity did not lead into a huge underground cave housing something that could eat him for afternoon tea.

The inside was not very deep (and had no apparent secret doors or passages), but enough so that the innermost section was completely dry. Nodding his approval, Kris lay his exhausted body down on a soft bed of leaves and moss. Camellia reluctantly followed, filling up the remaining dry ground and folding her legs under her.

Hearing an inquiring squeak by his ear, Kris turned his head to smile sleepily at their squirrel-guide, who was perched on the cap of a big purple mushroom. "Thank you, kind... Miss?"

He either imagined or saw the squirrel give him a little curtsey before scurrying back outside.

"Just a short nap, Camellia. We don't wanna be stuck here all night by accident," Kris yawned and rested his head on his arm. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he made out markings - no - drawings on the wall of what seemed like gaily-dressed children at play.

As his lids grew heavy, the drawings seemed to swim and dance just like the shadows in the forest outside, which continued to do so even as Kris fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

======

Kris woke some hours later to the scent of damp vegetation. He stretched his limbs, finding them vastly improved from when he had first stumbled in to rest. "Well, Camellia, nice as this has been, I think it's time to make a move."

Hearing no response, Kris scrambled upright to find his mare gone and an assortment of forest animals peering at him curiously from around his makeshift bed.

This was very unusual. He had only ever heard of this happening to princesses.

There was the squirrel with the necklace, chittering excitedly to a sharp-snouted raccoon with black and pale yellow stripes and a ring through its ear. A slick-coated beaver with several strings of handmade wooden beads around its neck sniffed at Kris's hand. Behind the group of eight or so creatures - each wearing its own unique trinket - stood a medium-sized but elegant stag whose knowing brown eyes were framed by gracefully painted lines.

"Who makes these things...?" Kris whispered to himself, his head running wild with every possibility he had heard before. Before he could decide on any one, he clambered urgently to his feet and hurried past the animals. "Camellia? Camellia! Where are you, girl??"

The forest seemed to whisper around him, echoing his voice as if in mockery.

There was no sign of Camellia, and the littered ground yielded no tracks. From what he could see through the treetops, it could not be long before sundown, and whatever seemed curious during the day could well turn dangerous once it was night.

Kris wove through the thicket and continued to call for his horse, fleetingly aware that the animals were following him at a respectable distance.

Hearing the sound of something treading through the brush, Kris spun around and saw the familiar form of his faithful mare coming towards him. "Camellia!" he breathed, "Finally. Where have you been? You gave me a real scare, you know."

He moved forward to take Camellia's reins, and saw, leading her through the undergrowth, easily the largest bird he had ever encountered in his life.

"AAH!!"

It stood at least three feet tall, and was like no other bird Kris had seen before. But it had to be a bird. He could tell from its strong folded wings that could no doubt gain it the upper hand against a flightless opponent, its deadly pointed beak that could gouge his eyes out in a heartbeat, and its grasping clawed feet that would hold him down as it did so.

Certain that he had met his avian match, Kris reached for his sword to defend himself if need be, only to realize with horror that he did not bring one.

Surprisingly, the large bird did not move to attack him, but spread its wings slightly and dipped its body, as if it were bowing to him. Then it stepped aside, letting Camellia trot her way to Kris. She greeted him with a gentle bump of her head against his shoulder, seeming calmer than she had ever been since entering the forest.

Bewildered, Kris studied the peculiar creature before him.

The fine feathers that covered its body were a vivid blue that showed up even in the gloom, but the feathers of its wings were striped with white and two darker shades, like those of a prize pheasant. It had an unusual crest that matched its body, resembling a bouquet of feathery poppies growing out the top of its head. Its tail ran down from the base of its long neck and was broad, and so long that it disappeared into the bushes behind it. But the truly remarkable thing about that tail, from what Kris could see, was that each of its long, sweeping feathers seemed to be tipped by an oblong disc of brilliant shades that resembled an eye, and reflected what little light there was left in that place.

Its actual eyes, framed above and below by lines of startling white, were not black and soulless at all, but bright and full of spirit, much like the eyes of the decorated animals behind him.

Kris admitted to himself that it was quite beautiful, despite it being a bird. Besides that, it carried itself with an almost regal grace - its head tilted up proudly as it patiently gazed at him. Suddenly feeling self-conscious about his natural slump, Kris quickly righted his posture.

"Uh..." he began, "Thank you, for bringing me my horse... o apparent leader of the woodland animals. I don't expect you can show us the way out of here as well? The direction of Arkanseld would be good. But, ah, if you're busy, looking for worms or something, we can always follow Miss Squirrel again..."

Almost immediately, the bird turned and moved back the way it came, its tail trailing along the forest floor like the train of his mother's gown.

Kris blinked, then tugged Camellia along. "Don't just stand there! The bird-leader is showing us the way out!"

They walked in a procession of sorts - the mysterious bird went first, followed by Kris leading Camellia, while the group of animals brought up the rear, 'speaking' to one another in a myriad of animal sounds. It was probably the most bizarre thing Kris had had the dubious honour of experiencing, at least so far.

Soon, Kris began to hear the rustling of leaves as the cool evening breeze blew through them. That was a good sign - the inside of the forest was too oppressive and still to be comfortable.

What he did not expect was to see a wide lake spread before him, and all around it, yet more trees. While he was thankful for the sight of open sky and the setting sun, he realized he could be deeper in Darkbough Forest than anyone with a right mind would ever be.

He looked around, and saw nearby a cave mouth large enough for an upright human to pass through. The rocks that made it up were strange; warped and moulded to shape, as if some magical architect had directed their very formation to suit a personal whim. This one, no doubt, led somewhere Kris did not fancy going.

He turned to the large bird, and noted casually that the light caused its blue feathers to yield a green sheen. "Um, is this where you live?"

The bird bobbed its head gently.

Kris shuffled his feet uncomfortably, trying not to give in to his nerves. "I think there's been a slight misunderstanding. I don't speak bird, see. What I meant to say was, 'could you show me the way back to _my_  home?' Not yours, though I'm sure it's a great home..."

The beaver and the raccoon bustled out of the cave, carrying a woven basket filled with a selection of unfamiliar but very tasty-looking wild fruit, and set it down on the dull green grass. The bird stepped towards the basket and motioned to it with its beak, then looked up at him.

"Oh, no. I really couldn't..." Kris declined politely, despite the protests of his suddenly awakened and very empty stomach. Indeed, he had forgotten all about lunch, but he had been told that he should never eat food given to him by suspicious beings...

"As I was saying, I really need to be getting home, because if I don't-"

Before he could say another word, Camellia barged past him and snatched a shiny, deep red orb from the basket.

Kris lurched forward and tried to pry her chewing mouth open. "No, Camellia!! Spit it out! Bad girl!"

Camellia swallowed and immediately dove in for her next morsel. Kris grabbed the basket out from under her and stepped away, but she pursued him relentlessly until her chomping jaws closed around another fruit.

Kris groaned in dismay, waiting for Camellia to turn into a toad, or grow scales, or explode...

The mare let out a contented whinny, and did nothing of the sort.

Kris waited a while longer for something terrible to happen to her as his tummy growled long and low, scolding him for deliberately depriving himself of perfectly safe food. Finally, he reached into the basket and browsed cautiously through its contents.

"Here, I'm eating this..." he called to the bird, holding up a fuzzy, purple peach-like fruit.

The majestic creature paid him no attention - it appeared to be watching the sky as the sun dipped below the treetops, casting the world as he knew it into dusk.

Then, before Kris's very eyes, the bird began to change.

Taller it grew - taller than Kris - its claws becoming toes at the end of a pair of long, slim legs. Its wings melted into strong but limber arms that stemmed from broad, pleasantly curved shoulders. Its feathers receded into its body, and became fair skin clothed simply in soft fabric the iridescent colours of its plumage. Instead of a crest, there was a generous head of hair that was black as a raven's feathers, which framed a very human face.

The young man who was formerly a bird looked up at Kris with keen eyes that seemed to reflect the stars above, and smiled like nothing made him happier than Kris's presence. His voice, when he spoke, was perhaps a note higher than the average male's, and a little bashful at the moment. "Hello..."

Kris was aware of a dull thud as the fruit he was clutching hit the ground. Finding his capability for intelligent conversation greatly reduced, he raised a juice-covered hand and pointed. "You... bird..."

"I get that quite a lot," the man chuckled - a pleasing sound, "Don't worry, I don't peck."

"Good to know," Kris said stiffly.  
  
The strange man stepped closer, careful not to make any sudden movements. "I'm sorry if I startled you, or didn't exactly lead you home," he said apologetically, "It's just that people don't come around here anymore, and I haven't met anyone from outside in months..."

"I-it's fine," Kris waved his hand dismissively when his speech finally returned to him, "All good. It's just... one doesn't meet magical creatures every day, you know."

"Oh, I'm no magical creature."

"But... bird."

The man tipped his head, acknowledging the fact. "A peacock, to be precise. Long story. Anyway, I'm Adam. It's a pleasure to meet you." And he bowed very slightly, with his right shoulder dipped forward and his right hand closed over his heart - the distinctive salute of royalty that Kris had been taught himself.

Automatically, Kris returned the gesture, though he continued to stare at Adam very openly. It was not hard to put two and two together, and the result had Kris's world on the verge of overturning from sheer amazement. "It- it's you, isn't it? The one that old lady was talking about at the market. She was right. She was actually right..."

"Really?" Adam asked curiously, "What does she say about me?"

"That you've been cursed. To be a..." Kris tried to control his grimace, " _Bird_."

Adam looked down at him quizzically, and Kris suddenly noticed how close to him Adam was standing. Adam quirked a thick, dark eyebrow at him. "You don't like birds very much, do you?"

The explanation, quite obviously, was that birds were evil. He had a long list of personal experiences to back up that claim, but it was probably a bad idea to risk ticking Adam off, considering the other man was much taller, and looked pretty strong, too. He recalled one of the extremely rare times when Cale lost his temper, and had sat on him - the outcome was far uglier on his own side. "Um... nothing personal, Adam, you seem... _seemed_  like a very nice bird. But birds in general are... uh... long story. Never mind."

For some reason, Adam laughed, his voice ringing merrily about the clearing. "You're funny! Oh, pardon me. I haven't asked you your name."

"Kristopher..." Kris said without really thinking, too busy trying to figure out what indeed was so funny. "Prince Kristopher of Arkanseld. But I prefer being called just Kris..."

Adam sobered immediately, and seemed even more interested in him than before, if that were possible. "Then you're the son of King Neil and Queen Kimberly!"

Kris started, mentally kicking himself for loosening his tongue like that. He had also been told that giving one's real name to strangers could have dire consequences... "Um, no, I'm n-"  
  
"How are they??"

Kris eyed Adam up and down warily, but Adam appeared genuinely interested to know, rather than preparing to track down his family and hex them. In fact, Adam seemed nice enough a person, and despite spending half his days as a big exotic bird in the forbidden forest, he was not all that strange, all things considered. He was just friendly. Very friendly. Also, he was the one under a curse, not the one who dished it out. The major affairs of Arkanseld's Royal Family were common knowledge, anyway...

"Everything alright?" Adam's voice broke into his thoughts.

Kris realized that he had been frowning, and quickly lifted his brow. A nagging voice just below his consciousness remarked that it was a wonder Adam was patient enough to talk to him. "My mother's fine, though she misses my father. The past nine years, he's been on a great quest with other famous heroes to-"

"Seek the Heart of Faerieland!" Adam interrupted, gesturing excitedly, "It's said that anyone who finds the Heart will be given a share of it, to take home to bestow the gift of everlasting happiness upon their kingdom! A quest for it could take years, but it's the greatest prize in all the world."

Kris nodded, impressed. "You know your stuff."

"My dad could have gone on that quest, too, but he chose to stay with his people and sent his best knight instead. Oh!" he touched Kris's shoulder gently, "I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier. I'm the son of King Eber and Queen Leila of the Sunstone Kingdom. You must've heard of them, our dads go way back!"

Kris's eyes widened. "King Eber?? Sunstone...? Wait. That means-"

"It means _exactly_  what it means!"

"You're _that_  Adam," Kris blurted out, the name finally registering in his addled brain, "One of the lost princes!"

Adam's excited smile waned almost immediately. "That's me."

"Alright..." Feeling quite bad, Kris grappled clumsily for something to smooth over his lack of conversational finesse. "I... ah... that is, my friends and I... we first heard about you from my old nurse. Sometimes, before we went to sleep, we'd all pile into my bed, and um..."

"Ooh, I was in your bedtime story? Tell me more..." Adam's smile was back, this time tugging at the left corner of his lips. His eyes twinkled with what smacked of mischief as they looked right into Kris's.

Slightly puzzled, Kris squinted at his unexpected companion through the darkness. He was quite sure Adam was not poking fun at him - his tone and expression suggested nothing of the sort. Of what they _were_  actually suggesting, Kris had an inkling that was vague, far-fetched, and slightly improper, which made his cheeks go warm in the cool night.

"N-not anymore, of course," he mumbled, "I mean, I obviously don't get bedtime stories anymore. And it's not awfully unusual - plenty of people tell all sorts of crazy stories about you. Plenty of people listen. Not that I ever believed all that um, poppycock..." He stared hard at his feet and started scraping his heel against the grass.

Adam's amusement at Kris's reaction was almost palpable, but he graciously chose to drop the subject. He picked up the basket of fruit and went to sit on a wide slab of rock overlooking the water. Just like the nearby cave, the rock looked like it was formed there by deliberate design.

Adam stretched his limbs luxuriously, his bare feet skimming the grass. "Ahh, my legs are killing me..." He cleared his throat. "Right. Let's do this again. Our fathers were old friends, and used to go questing together. Don't you think it means something that the two of us are meeting now, unlikely as it is?"

"Really unlikely, but if you're talking coincidence or fate..." Kris scratched the back of his head, "Well, I guess it does mean something."

"Then you can at least sit down, before you wear out your boots digging yourself into the ground," Adam lightly patted the space next to him, "And they're a lovely pair of boots, by the way. Pigskin?"

Kris immediately stopped grinding his soles and looked down at his poor boots, their design all blotted out by dried mud save for the topmost silver swirl etched into the soft leather. He shuffled over and sat down exactly where Adam had patted the smooth rock. "Thanks... you can tell, huh?"

"Just a guess. They do wrinkle quite adorably around your ankles."

"Eh."

"Hyalinberries?" Adam reached into the basket and drew out a bunch of slightly translucent pale yellow fruits, offering it to him.

"Thank you. I'd almost forgotten I was starving - again," Kris gratefully took the bunch by the stem and looked at it as his tummy rumbled. It resembled a cluster of little full moons. He plucked one of the berries and popped it into his mouth. It was surprisingly firm and fleshy, and tartly sweet with the slightest bitter aftertaste. Its tiny seeds clustered at the core of each fruit, and served up a pleasant crunch as they were chewed.

"Mm," Kris nodded his approval to Adam as he finished off his third berry, "I could get filled up on a couple of these. Should I save you some?"

"No, thank you. I think I gorged myself earlier on-" Adam paused, wrinkling his nose, "Never mind."

Before he knew it, Kris was holding the plucked-clean hyalinberry stem and licking the syrupy juice from his lips. "Sorry," he gave Adam a sheepish grin as he nudged the bare stem under a nearby bush with his foot, "These should really come with a warning."

"Tell me about it," Adam rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "I used to stuff my face with them when I first discovered them."

"So..." he looked at Kris, resting his chin on his hand, "You must've been pretty far from home already for your Camellia to carry you in here during the storm. Snuck out for a refreshing change of scenery?"

Kris cringed. Was he really so obvious? "How did you-?"

"Your clothes," Adam pointed out, "No Crown Prince goes out dressed like that, unless he doesn't want to be seen. And you're obviously out here alone, because you didn't once mention searching for the rest of your party."

"Huh, sharp..." Kris muttered. "Yes, I did sneak out of the castle. I needed some space really bad, to sort myself out."

He was going to leave it at that, but Adam's inquisitive expression begged further elaboration. "Alright, alright," he caved, "There's this huge ball my mom's hosting, the night after tomorrow. I'm gonna have to pick a fellow royal to marry from one of the guests - no arguing it, since I'm already a year late... But I'm not ready for that, and I don't know if I'll ever be. I'm just happy doing my own thing. Marriage is a commitment to another person that you stick to for life, and if I make a mistake choosing..."

Adam winced sympathetically. "Hey, it can't be that bad. You never know who you'll meet at the ball. Maybe it'll be someone nice and fun you can get along with like you've known each other forever. Or, at least, someone who likes what you like."

"That's the trouble," Kris frowned, "I haven't met anyone like that yet, with the exception of my best friend, Cale. We grew up together, so we've literally known each other forever. If he were a royal, I suppose I'd pick him. It'll definitely work out better than marrying someone I've just met. Still, it's only because I have to fulfil my princely duty. Cale's like a brother to me, so I don't exactly hear wedding bells when I see his face."

"The price of a crown, as my mom used to tell me," Adam mused, "You don't get to be picky about whether you're in love or not, or whether you want to get married or not. There aren't a lot of love marriages amongst royals, but many of them do end up very fond of each other. Some even fall in love, eventually."

"Like my parents," Kris nodded, "I guess they struck it lucky."

"So did mine, though the old rumour claims my dad was planning to go down in scandalous history by eloping with the buxom chambermaid the night before his betrothal day."

"That's a wild one," Kris chuckled, "But I doubt that'll be me, either. I do meet people of all ranks, and it's not that I haven't tried to make friends with them. It's just impossible, when everyone's too busy bowing to me and asking me what they can do for me. The royals and nobles aren't any better. If I hear about one more hunting trip, or which lady-in-waiting kissed which stablehand, I swear, I will lose it."

Adam made a face. "Ugh, is that what people like us are supposed to talk about all day?"

"Apparently so, based on the ones I've met. They all talk about the same thing, all the time. I don't know how they do it... Guess that's why I'm not feeling optimistic about Mom's guest list." Kris grimaced, shaking his head. "Huh, look at me grumbling. I'm sure you don't think this is a big problem, compared to... you know."

"Nah, don't worry about it - I asked first," Adam said kindly, "I can see why you're shaken up. Marriage is never a small matter." He smiled and turned his gaze to the distant trees across the lake.

The quiet of the clearing allowed Kris a moment of contemplation. It was easy talking to Adam, he realized, though less than an hour ago he was sizing up Adam's bird form in a theoretical fight. The words had flowed freely from his heart and out his mouth just like they would in front of his lifelong best friends, and Adam neither lectured him nor made fun of him for it. Maybe that came from his unusual circumstances, but Adam did strike him as a genuine and good person.

Now that they were out from under the trees and below the light of a waxing moon, he took the opportunity to study Adam while the other man was distracted.

His black hair reflected the light like chipped obsidian, sweeping over his forehead, sideburns, and the back of his neck. It grew in a thick and textured orderly mess - unlike Kris's own, which stuck out ungracefully in every direction if he was not careful, and cost him far too much time taming it in front of a mirror each morning.

Adam had well-defined features, though not exactly chiselled like those on the statues of Arkanseld's past Kings and heroes that dotted the castle grounds. His had a softer quality to them, but all the same, they made for a rather elegant side profile.

Kris could not make out what colour Adam's eyes were, but they appeared light and were probably some shade of blue.

Adam was quite handsome, Kris admitted, but not in the slightly rugged way that Cale and the other sought-after young men of Arkanseld were. It was out of his field to determine what exactly made Adam look different, but he certainly had not seen anyone like him before.

"I loved to hear stories, too," Adam said wistfully, watching the reflection of the sky dance on the surface of the lake, "And I still do. My mother would tell me tales of magic, romance and chivalry - always with happy endings, of course."

Adam made no mention of it, but Kris instantly recognized the want in his voice. It was the desire of a dreamer - a foolish one, perhaps. The desire of a wide-eyed young boy to one day forge his own story, which would be told and sung for generations to come.

Kris had that desire, too, once upon a time in his childish idealism. But Adam... he got his wish, in a way. He was in his own story now, playing a role that Kris would not wish on anyone.

He ached to say something comforting to Adam, but thought the wiser of barrelling ahead with all his assumptions and well-intended ham-handedness. "I liked stories about daring knights and slayers of wicked beasts," he said instead, "I had this dream of becoming just like my father one day. You know, a great hero."

Adam turned to face him. "And...?" he prompted gently.

Kris shrugged. "I guess I didn't? I uh... I just make music, but I'm not sure if any of it is great. Yeah, I know. I'm a complete fail-"

"You play music?!" Adam exclaimed, making Kris jump. "What kind? Do you write your own??"

As he formulated his answer to Adam's rapid questions, Kris marvelled that his exceedingly ordinary self was that interesting to someone like Adam. Of course, Adam could just be very lonely. "I can play a couple of instruments, but I like the lute best. Court music isn't really for me. I like things like folk songs - the ones that tell stories. I do write, but I'm not as good as-"

"Do you sing, too??"

Well, he really seemed _that_ interested. "A little..." Kris said modestly, "But there's plenty of better singers than me out there."

Adam shifted his weight so that he sat facing Kris, his eyes alight with eagerness. "Show me!"

"Right now?" Kris blinked in surprise, instinctively reaching for his non-present lute and grasping at a nearby shrub instead. "I guess, if you want..." He mentally sifted through all the songs he knew by heart, looking for something decent, and hopefully impressive, that he could present to Adam without an instrument. "Can't go wrong with this one," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

Kris took a breath and began to sing in a soft baritone:

"Sometimes _we fear the rain,_  
 _In a world cruel and wild,_  
 _Should your hope ever wane,_  
 _Remember this, my child:_

 _When stormclouds loom above,_  
 _And sword and arrow fail,_  
 _Those who wield purest love_  
 _O'er darkness shall prevail._ "

In the midst of the second verse, Kris was faintly aware of the song's harmony line, often sung in accompaniment to the first voice, chiming in like a whisper from somewhere ethereal. At first, he attributed it to his familiarity with the tune, and then to the tricks of the forest. But it was no trick at all - Adam was singing with him. Kris let his own voice fade, silently inviting Adam to take up the melody:

"The _wall shall split in two,_  
 _The invincible fall,_  
 _As a heart bold and true,_  
 _By its light conquers all._ "

Adam sang in a melodious tenor voice, with a vibrato like rippling water. Though restrained and tender at the moment, it sounded capable of the soaring power and raw emotion possessed by the rare bardic knights, who could turn the tide of battle with the might of their song. He was about to say so, but Adam spoke first.

"Kris..." he said softly, as if he were trying out the feel of the name on his tongue, "Your voice is like... dark honey."

Kris's eyebrows shot up. Now, there was a description of his own voice he had not heard before. And perhaps it had nothing to do with the unconventional compliment, nor the way Adam had said it, but his confounded cheeks were burning again. However, he did manage a grin in reply.

"Thanks, Adam. You... certainly have a way with words. You know this song pretty well, huh?"

"I first heard it when my mom sang it to me, as a-"

"Lullaby," Kris joined, nodding. "It's a really nice song, but I still don't quite get it. I mean, love is great, everyone knows that. But how does it really do all that stuff? We're talking wars, and walls, and the invincible, here."

"Oh, of course it wasn't meant in a literal sense," said Adam sagely, "It means that if we all just choose to love and forgive, there wouldn't have to be any fighting and wars. Love softens hearts, heals, and breaks down boundaries, that sort of thing."

Kris hummed thoughtfully. "Wow. That's what the song's about? Never thought of it that way."

Adam gave an easy shrug and leaned over to run his fingertips through the water. "At least, that's what I think it means."

Kris followed Adam's lead and peered at the gently lapping water at the banks. Their wavering reflections, disturbed by Adam's touch earlier, eventually stilled enough for Kris to look past them. The water was surprisingly clear, and he could make out tiny fish that shimmered silver and glowed blue, flitting about just below the surface.

He began to ask if Adam saw them, too, but then noticed from their reflections that Adam was no longer gazing at the water, but right at him.

Feigning ignorance, Kris continued to watch the little fish, but remained fully aware of Adam at the corner of his vision. Adam seemed keen to observe him as long as Kris appeared preoccupied, and that was fine. It was very unusual for him, but he found that he quite enjoyed Adam's undivided attention, even if it sometimes threw him with its intensity.

Kris stuck out his lower lip calculatingly, wondering if he had it in him to return that favour and disarm the seemingly unshakeable poise of the Sunstone Kingdom's charming Crown Prince.

"Piece of copper for your thoughts, Adam?" Kris ventured boldly, anticipating an interesting reaction.

Adam's gaze on him did not waver. "You're pretty," he said simply.

It was Kris who found himself caught off-guard, once again. He turned his head to stare at Adam. "'Scuse me?"

"And you're nice, and also very gifted. And you need to quit the self-depreciation before it becomes more of a habit than it already is. Things may seem quiet at times, but you might just surprise yourself one day."

Kris gawked for a moment before collecting his wits. Adam was observant, alright. "Well... you're very talented, too. The best bards of our time would kill to be able to sing like you."

Adam beamed at him. "You really think so? Why, thank you!"

"I do think so," Kris said affirmatively, "And it's such a shame that nobody gets to hear you sing all the way in here."

"Aw, it's not so bad. I sing for my friends, sometimes."

Kris blinked in puzzlement. "Your friends?? Where would-"

As he gestured around to indicate the lonely clearing, he caught sight of the animals who had followed them there, plus a few new arrivals. They all sat, stood, or perched at a respectable distance, as if to give them both space and yet stay close enough to listen in. Each of them appeared to be minding their own business a little too intently - scratching, eating, and preening. "Oh."

"You must think I'm strange..." Adam said, "Though, they weren't always like this."

Kris stared at the animals, and they regarded him in turn with their keen, intelligent eyes - some of them contemplative, some of them sad. He remembered the drawings on the rock wall... "They're the lost Sunstone children," he whispered.

"Yes..." Adam looked up and smiled as a woodpecker with a fiery red crest flew into view and landed on his shoulder. "And where have _you_  been all day? Kris, this is my younger brother, Neil. I think he was named after your father. Neil, this is Prince Kristopher of Arkanseld."

"Hullo, Prince Neil..." Kris waved as politely as he could at the bird, who chirruped in reply. It was a peculiar day for Kris. He had not been on such friendly terms with birds for many, many years.

Neil cast another glance at him and uttered an oddly nagging rattle into Adam's ear, making him roll his eyes and grin. "That's not very fair, you know. Now go away, I'm talking to Kris."

"Malady keeps them trapped here as a sort of... trophy reminder," Adam explained sombrely, as the woodpecker flew off to perch next to the raccoon. "They're completely under her power, so they can't leave the forest. Almost every other free animal left a long time ago. They can sense her black heart, and they're afraid of it."

Just then, it hit Kris, and he leapt to his feet. "Wait, where _is_  Malady? Isn't she somewhere around??"

"Not for another three days," said Adam, "She has to return by then, because she's bound to this forest and she'd be weak and powerless if she stays away from it for too long. She must be really far away if she's let down the forest's defences like this. If she were here, you wouldn't even make it twenty feet in, let alone be able to speak to me."

All at once, Kris's mind began to race with grand schemes not unlike the ones he used to dream up in his boyhood recklessness. "If she's not here, why don't you run away, Adam? Leave this land, and find someone who can help you! Even if she does find you, she'd be too far from Darkbough to do anything to hurt you."

"I can't," Adam sighed deeply, as if it were the oldest argument in the world. "This is how these things go - as long as the caster is alive somewhere in the world, so are her curses. The one on me is such that if I am outside the boundaries of this forest during sunrise or sunset when I transform, the curse will become irreversible. When that happens, even Malady won't be able to undo it. I will remain a peacock always, until my death, or hers. And beings like Malady never age and die."

Kris sat back down next to Adam in stunned silence. "That... that's not even fair," he protested, "Why does she hate you so much that she would do this to you?"

"If she hated me, I would have been turned into stone, like the rest of my kingdom, or completely unable to assume human form, like my friends. Out of them all, I was the only one she left untouched - until three years ago. No, she doesn't hate me."

"But that makes it even more insane!" Kris cried, "How can you be so calm about it? Aren't you angry with her for everything she did to you??"

Adam stared off into the distance. "I used to be. As a child, I was scared of her. Then, I started to hate her. I fought her with my every breath, though I was helpless against her..." He lowered his eyes, and his voice softened, "But then... as I grew out of my childish perspective, I realized that she did all those terrible things because she had only ever known envy, and animosity, and rejection. So I stopped opposing her every move, and gave her kindness and compassion instead. I figured that she'd spared me because she cared for me in her own way, so if I could warm her heart by caring for her in return, she would release my kingdom, and perhaps even herself from this senseless cycle of hate."

Kris shook his head, unsure of how he should feel as his sentiments clashed with one another. "I don't know, Adam. It sounds like you're the one who's warmed up to her. I'm sorry, but I can't imagine how you could care for someone as heartless as that witch."

"What do you expect me to do?" Adam asked quietly, "Keep being angry and hateful? That won't help anyone. She's been hurt very badly, and that hurt made her what she is now. I can't just pretend I don't know that. Maybe she's heartless, but I'm not."

"No, Adam, you're not heartless," Kris sighed, "You care for her because you pity her, don't you...?"

"That sums it up, yes."

"But why did she curse you then, if you were kind to her in the end?"

Adam picked up a small stone from the water's edge and sent it skipping across the surface with practiced ease. "When I came of age, she asked me to be hers. But I couldn't. I couldn't ever bring myself to love her, so I refused. She cursed me as punishment for my ingratitude. Maybe she thought that if she drove me to despair or desperation, I'd have a change of heart." He smiled faintly. "The heart is a funny thing, Kris. Magic can move the very mountains and turn the world inside out, but..."

"It can't conjure love," Kris finished, and Adam nodded.

Feeling anger boil up in his chest, Kris pounded his fist against the rock they were on. "She's mad! That's not love. That's possession, and... and... all sorts of crazy things. That's _not_  how you make someone love you!"

"It's all she knows how to do," Adam said softly, briefly touching Kris's tense arm, "But I will never stop being kind. I won't ever stop trying."

Kris closed his eyes and breathed deeply until the pounding in his veins subsided. He met Adam's eyes, his own reflecting a mixture of sympathy and awe. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you, Adam. That awful witch-woman, your whole kingdom, and now this curse... and all of it didn't break you."

"It could have," Adam admitted, "But I have my brother and my friends with me. I hate to see them trapped in these forms, but at least we're together. They keep me sane when everything gets too much to bear..."

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Kris's hands, his eyes ablaze with an intense fervour. "And I have _hope_ , Kris!" he declared in a voice brimming with emotion, "I've never stopped hoping that one day, somehow, the curse over all of us will be lifted. My family and my people - they're not dead. They're just... asleep. Waiting..."

Kris looked down at his hands clasped in Adam's slightly larger ones. His grip was firm but not oppressive, surprisingly soft, and comfortingly warm. "Waiting for a hero?" he offered quietly.

"Something..."

"I wonder what my father would've done," Kris thought out loud, "If he were here when all of this happened. He always has some kind of idea."

"Nothing to do with charging the fort, I hope?" Adam looked skeptical, "Because that hasn't worked well at all."

"I don't know," Kris sighed, "Maybe he can bring you the breath of an Angel, or the essence of the Mother Tree, which they say can undo any evil. If any mortal can even find them, that is... But the curse on you isn't permanent yet, Adam. If the legends are true, there's always a way to break it without having to actually destroy the caster, which isn't always possible. I don't know what we can do to save your kingdom yet, but maybe we can do something to help _you_."

Adam remained silent for the first time that evening, his expression far away and unreadable. Kris found it rather unsettling. But he ran his thumb lightly over Adam's fingertips, for whatever good it would do.

After what seemed like ages, Adam spoke. "If the one my heart belongs to were to make his first ever vow of love, to be faithfully mine until the end of his days, I will be freed from Malady's power. She will not be able to harm me again, unless that vow is broken. She keeps me hidden in here so I'll never have the chance to meet anyone who might be able to free me."

Kris was not aware that he was frowning hard, until he felt fingers smoothing out the creases on his brow. " _Tsk_ , not a good look for you," Adam chided him gently, "How about you give me that beautiful smile instead?"

"Oh..." It took a moment for Kris to gather himself, but he did give Adam a lopsided grin.

It turned out to be most effective, because Adam's face lighted up in an instant. He began to say something, but Camellia crashed into the clearing at that very second, whinnying and stomping her hooves in distress.

Kris got to his feet and hurried over to calm his mare, wrapping his arms around her neck and stroking her mane. "What's the matter, girl? Something scare you?"

Camellia stopped fussing, though her eyes were still wide and darting this way and that. Kris turned to shrug at Adam, but he was staring worriedly into the woods, his gaze searching for something Kris was not very keen to find out about. "You should probably head back soon," Adam told him reluctantly, "They must be worried about you."

Kris wrinkled his nose in equal reluctance, recalling his former urgency to get out of the forest and go home. Yes, his mother and Cale would have had the entire kingdom torn brick from brick by now to find him, unless Daniel had given them an utterly convincing and unalarming reason not to do so. But what with the terrible storm and the circumstances surrounding Kris's brash departure from the castle, it would not be long before Daniel himself joined in the brick-tearing - or worse, led a search party into the outlands.

"Darn. You're right, Adam," Kris admitted, "I did just run off into the blue, after all. I wasn't thinking about what was going on back home at all..."

Adam squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "When your head's in a mess, you can't always think straight."

"It's not that," Kris groused, getting his fingers caught in Camellia's tangled mane, "I mean, after we cleared up your bird thing, I was just kicking back here and having a nice talk with you, and now I have to leave. Like I said, I don't make new friends that easy."

"Then... does it mean I'm your new friend?" Adam asked, his voice hopeful, "Because it would be a true honour."

"Adam," Kris grinned broadly at him, "The honour is all mine."

Taking extra care not to look like an undergrown klutz, Kris climbed onto Camellia's back and held out his hand to Adam. "You'll still need to show me the way out."

Adam tilted his head questioningly. "Are you sure she can carry me, too? I'm not exactly feather-light."

"Don't worry," Kris patted the space behind him, "Camellia's father was a direct descendant of the legendary Storm-chasers. She may not be able to ride upon the winds and she _clearly_  hates storms," he leaned in to emphasize that statement into her ear, "But she's still one tough girl."

"Alright then," Adam grasped his arm and stepped into the stirrup, looking a little unsure for a moment. "It's been some time," he admitted.

"Hold on to this," Kris prompted, taking Adam's hand and guiding it to the pommel on his saddle, "Put your other hand on her back, behind me, and hoist yourself up."

Adam did as he was told, laughing as his first attempt failed. The second time, however, he added a bounce to his step and successfully straddled the mare. Kris felt the air wheeze out of him as Adam's arms wrapped tightly around his middle in a bid to stay upright.

"I'm sorry!" Adam hurriedly released him and grasped the pommel instead, "Are you alright?"

Now that he had been asked, Kris realized that he felt more than alright. He felt strong. He felt daring. He felt like... a hero. He lifted his head high and started Camellia off at a trot. "Yeah, I'm alright. Lead the way, Adam."

They rode in companionable silence through the dancing shadows and fleeting whispers of the forest, except for when Adam would tell him to go in a direction, or warn him about snatcher-trees. Though the moonlight did not pass through the treetops, the forest below had a strange glow of its own that Adam told him appeared every evening at sunset. The very air seemed to be dimly lit by some enchantment to prevent the forest's inhabitants from being plunged into utter darkness each night.

Soon, the dense greenery began to thin, and Kris knew that they were coming to the edge of the woodland. He felt Adam's arms come around him again, firm and soft and warm like his hands. The ghost of something tender brushed against his right ear, and Kris wondered if it was a kiss.

"Here we are," Adam's voice broke into his speculations.

The night breeze washed over them both, smelling like flowers. Kris could see his kingdom in the distance, lit sparsely by street-lamps and the windows of the few who were still awake and about. The castle with its many turrets stood upon its hill, watchful like a father over his children.

"Will you be alright?" Kris asked as Adam helped himself to the ground.

Adam gave him a radiant smile. "I will be, now."

"I'll come back tomorrow at sunset," Kris promised, "Wait for me here, Adam!"

And he was off at a gallop, grinning to himself as if he had not a care in the world.

As he crossed the border of the forest, Camellia ground to a sudden halt, neighing in alarm and flinching away from a gnarled old tree to their left. Kris readied a few choice words to say to her for disrupting his reverie, but something gleaming in the tree's twisted branches caught his eye.

It was the ugliest bird he had ever seen. Its dagger-sharp beak and claws were made to kill. Its dark feathers were matted and dirty, as if it were sick. It was probably some kind of bird-of-prey, though it looked more like a diseased scavenger. Its large, vivid yellow eyes like twin pits of fire burned into his with a disconcerting intensity that felt a lot like loathing.

As he stared back in morbid fascination, Kris felt himself falling, falling into pitch black emptiness, although he sat frozen in place. If Camellia had not jolted him to his senses seconds later, he dreaded to think what could have happened to him.

He forced his gaze away from the nightmarish creature, shuddering violently, and hastened Camellia towards the open fields. He rode until he no longer felt those wicked bird-eyes boring into the back of his skull, until he was back to the world he knew.

======

Adam stood watching until Kris disappeared from view, arms wrapped around himself lest they feel a little empty. With a soft rustle and the clatter of beads, the stag came up beside him with the raccoon comfortably astride his back.

"I miss him already," Adam told the both of them with a sigh, "If he didn't have to go so soon, we could've kept this up all night. I think we really connected on some level there."

The stag inclined his head in Kris's wake, then nudged Adam gently in the arm, his painted eyes suggestive.

"What, him?" Adam chuckled ruefully, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Sutan. He's cute and smart and talented and nice - he's got the whole world at his feet. What would he even see in me? He'll probably meet some beautiful princess or prince at the ball with no troublesome past to speak of, and that'll be the end of it- _ouch_!"

The raccoon chuckled and patted Sutan on the head with his little black paw. Adam glared at them, rubbing his side where the tip of the stag's antler had firmly poked him. "Fine. So there's the odd little chance that he does like me. He did say he'd come back tomorrow. But then, there's me, expecting anyone who waltzes past to be _the one_  to break the spell." He shook his head. "I should stop. I'm just fooling myself and getting my hopes up for noth-"

He dodged and caught Sutan by both antlers before he could get jabbed again. "Sutan, Tommy, you know what? I'm thinking of making some scented candles. You two can either join me, or stay here and let your devious minds run wild."

Sutan gave a delicate snort and sashayed (as much as a stag could) with Tommy back into the forest, with Adam following behind, smiling and humming to himself.

======

The ever-crafty Prince Daniel had held the fort just fine until Kris's return, even going as far as bringing a portion of dinner into the palace library and eating it all himself to give the impression that Kris had thrown himself into reading and refused to come out nor see anyone else.

The guards and the servants were therefore thrown into momentary disarray when Kris strode in through the front doors, when it was already common knowledge that he had exiled himself to the library. The good thing was, as Crown Prince, he did not necessarily owe anyone (save the Queen) precise explanations of his doings, as long as he was safe and had not missed any important happenings.

At last, Kris reached the silence and privacy of his bedroom. He bolted the door and removed his stale, dirt-crusted clothes, wondering if Adam had simply been too polite to mention how badly he smelled.

He went through his usual night routine, thinking mundane thoughts, like what the palace dogs were up to, and what was for breakfast the next morning. The one thing he did differently was to give himself a good, long look in the mirror after his bath.

'Pretty' was what Adam had called him. How quaint.

It was hardly so that Kris never received compliments about his appearance. Visiting queens and noblewomen would wax lyrical about how charming he was (if one overlooked his tendency to drift during long conversations). Cale had told him - and Charles had teased him - more than a few times about how Arkanseld's impressionable youth would express their wishes to be a prince or princess, so that they would have a chance at courting him.

The thing was, Kris never felt inclined to inwardly acknowledge such praise. He was just Kris, and flattery was only amusing up to a certain point. How, then, was it different coming from Adam?

His reflection stared back at him, silently questioning just how one regards a man as 'pretty'. Kris did have smooth skin and a full lower lip that was a healthy and rosy pink. But it was dark out there by the lake - Adam had probably missed his shadow of very manly facial hair that was ever-present no matter how much the barber tried to shave it down, so Kris thought to himself as he pulled a variety of faces at the mirror.

_Silly fellow. How old are you? It's probably just Adam's way of putting things. He didn't say you looked like a girl. Take the compliment as it is, and go to bed._

Kris shrugged and dried himself off completely, slipping into his nightshirt and breeches before tumbling carelessly into his luxurious bed. Almost immediately, sleep overtook his tired body. He slept soundly, dreaming of villainous creatures living in deep caves, figures painted on a stone wall dancing to distant music, and songs sung in perfect harmony under the stars.


	4. A Song for You

"Would you die for love??"

Kris stopped strumming his new lute just long enough to squint up at Cale, feeling something in his neck pop from an hour's lack of movement. "If I did, that would be the end of said love," he said flatly, and went back to picking out the melody that was wafting about in his head and refused to be tied down.

Cale studied his song journal intently, a little embarrassed. "Just a thought. I've been reading up on all the popular tragedies lately, and... well, there you have it."

"In those stories, everyone dies anyway," Kris mumbled, striking one note repetitively and wondering why it seemed like such a good addition to the melody at first.

The afternoon was sunny but cool, and it was relatively quiet on the balcony surrounding the inner courtyard of the palace. Such conditions begged for a songwriting session, and so there was Cale, perched upon the wide stone coping and leaning against the inside of a large arch, scribbling in his journal; and Kris, sitting cross-legged on the floor, muleheadedly chasing an elusive new tune.

"It's the ball, isn't it?" Cale ventured carefully when Kris paused to rest his fingers, "You've been all weird since the Queen told you."

Kris shrugged noncommittally and resumed strumming, his mind clearly not in the present.

"Anyway," Cale continued cautiously, "I have this ballad forming right here," he tapped the page he was writing on, "It's about a prince who's promised to marry someone he's never met before, but he's actually in love with someone else he can't have. So he starts withdrawing into himself, stops talking to his friends..."

Kris stilled his lute strings with a firm palm, narrowing his eyes at Cale. "You aren't forming any ballads on that page, Squire Mills. You thought I wasn't looking, but I actually _saw_  you 'thinking', 'getting bursts of inspiration', and 'getting stuck'. Nobody is that theatrical when they're _actually_  writing. What do you know, and how do you know it??"

"Nothing!" Cale yelped immediately, hugging his journal to his chest, "I don't know anything!"

"Spit it out! If you've been eavesdropping on me when I was asleep..."

"I do _not_  do that!" exclaimed Cale, outraged, "You weren't about to start talking to anyone about what's bothering you, so I was trying to find other ways to dig it out of you. Whatever it is, Kris, you know you can tell me."

Kris watched the fountain in the courtyard below froth happily in its basin. "How'd your parents meet, again?"

Cale rubbed the back of his neck, puzzled at where Kris was headed with that question. "Uh, Momma was fetching some cream from the royal farms, when the new stablehand offered to help her carry a barrel of the stuff. When he lifted it high to show off to her how strong he was, it broke over his head, and-"

"Then you believe you can be in love, even if you've just known the person for a day?" Kris pressed, his eyes suddenly intense.

"It can happen. Love knows neither time nor place-"

"What's the ultimate vow of love you can make someone, Cale? Say you wanted to promise to love someone and be faithful to them until the end of your days?"

"Marriage, of course! What's more ultimate than that?"

"And, just to be sure, are you supposed to hear wedding bells when you see their face?"

Cale blinked. "What?"

"Not that you would know," Kris muttered and turned back to his lute, his previous ardour seemingly dissipated.

Cale put his journal away and climbed down to sit next to Kris, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Hey, maybe I know a thing or two. But, honestly, did something happen to you out there last night that I should know about?"

Kris plucked at a lute string so hard that it broke loose with a tuneless twang. Cale shrank a little, waiting for the inevitable outburst that usually came with the damage of Kris's personal musical instruments, but it did not come.

Then, the floodgates opened.

"His name is Adam and he's a bird, but only in the daytime, because that's how the curse goes, but if he runs away from the forest he'll be a bird forever, because Malady is crazy, and he's really tall - maybe as tall as you - but I don't know for sure because he made me sit down since I couldn't get over that he was a bird and the lost Crown Prince of the Sunstone Kingdom, and then we started singing about darkness and how love conquers all, but then Camellia got spooked so we rode her to the edge of the forest and my tummy felt all weird when he was hanging on to me, and then I came home and dreamt about him all night, and I haven't been drinking Charles's festive mead, so stop judging me."

Cale stared at Kris, quite dumbfounded.

"You are judging me," Kris pointed at him accusingly.

"No, no!" Cale clasped his own hands together expressively, "Sure, you did run off into Darkbough Forest all by yourself, and you pretty much could have gotten yourself kidnapped or killed or worse, but, Kris... you really _are_  in love!"

Kris frowned, thinking very hard. Things did seem to tally in favour of Cale's words. "I'm in love," he tried out the words softly.

"Yes!" Cale nodded rapidly, "Trust me, you are displaying _all_  the symptoms!"

"I'm in love with Adam!" Kris declared, louder this time.

"But what about Malady, and the curse? You said he can't just run away."

"Malady won't be back for another two nights," Kris explained, feeling his thoughts finally settling into something like a plan, "And as for the curse? That's where the big vow comes in. I've never made any vow of love to anyone before, so if I promise to love Adam faithfully for the rest of my life, and if he loves me back, the curse on him will be broken."

Cale's eyebrows shot up. "'If'? You mean, you don't know if he loves you back?"

"I just met him yesterday, Cale! Honestly. Am I supposed to ask him that already?"

"Hey, you're the one who's proclaiming your love for him after half a night together," Cale looked at him seriously, "You don't have an awful lot of time before the big bad returns, if you're planning to take any major steps. And, speaking of major steps, Adam's a prince, just like you. Don't you realize what it means? It means that if you invite him to the ball tomorrow night..."

"The ball!" Kris cried, as if he had just remembered it, "You're a genius, Cale! I'll ask Adam to attend as my personal guest, and if he's alright with it, I'll marry him right then and there. By the time Malady comes back, I'll have broken the curse, and she won't be able to hurt him again! And Cale, my oldest and most trusted friend, you're gonna go to Darkbough Forest tomorrow evening and personally see to it that Adam gets here."

"Muh... me?!" Cale sputtered.

"Look," Kris said in a low voice, "I can't exactly do it myself. Mom has a full day lined up for me and she'll probably send out the army if I disappear in the middle of the festivities. 'Sides, if I bring Adam here before he transforms at sunset, it'll only make the curse permanent and he'll never be human again. I know we're not supposed to go near Darkbough Forest, but Malady's not there now, and obviously, I went in there and made it out alive. Now, are you the gallant Sir Cale, or not?"

"I... I suppose I am?" Cale mumbled uncertainly.

Kris grinned broadly. "You're the greatest. Now, I have to fix this thing..." He picked up his damaged lute and took off down the corridor at an elated run.

======

"Now, that makes a lot more sense," Cale remarked, having heard Kris's story once again told in a calmer, more explanatory fashion as they rode their horses past Arkanseld's border. "Though, after hearing a story like that, I don't think I'll ever feel down about my life again."

"Why would you feel down about your life when you're in my service?" Kris snorted, adjusting his lute strap, "I could be like Prince Eli of Ironfort, and throw dining utensils at you whenever I feel like it."

Cale winced at the memory. "Prince Eli is three years old. If he doesn't grow out of it by your age, that's another story. Anyway, getting back to feeling down, I'm sure even you have days when life seems aimless and drab, and you think you have issues... Adam must have the skin of a rock golem to keep up that kind of sunny outlook on _his_  situation."

"He does _not_  have the skin of a rock golem. It's actually really soft and a lot less hairy than y- are you laughing at me, Cale??"

"Maybe," Cale grinned, suppressing his chuckles, "I say you have it pretty bad for Prince Adam."

"This will happen to you someday, just you wait," Kris scowled, "And I'll be there to do a really bad job of pretending I don't wanna laugh my bottom off whenever you talk about your honey-dumplings."

"Not if you're too busy being a good little husband to yours!"

"That's assuming he says 'yes'," Kris said dully.

Cale reached over to rub Kris on the back fondly. "And why wouldn't he? It's pretty obvious from what you told me that he's got something for you. You worry too much. If he's not fully convinced, just play him a few love songs, put on that adorable baby face of yours, get down on bended knee and tell him exactly how you feel about him. You can't possibly go wrong."

"And who made you the expert on love and courtship?" Kris scoffed in good humour, admiring the intermingling shades of purple, pink, and orange in the sky. "Wait," he paused with a frown, "What do you mean, 'baby face'?"

"We're here," Cale announced, eyeing the great dim woodland ahead with trepidation. "Do you, um, want to go first? Since you, uh, sort of know the place..."

"Cluck-cluck, little hen; laid a big egg in the pen," Kris teased him, trotting Camellia forward past the first few trees.

Anxiously, Cale urged his reluctant gelding after Kris. "It's alright, Norris. It's just a bunch of big, mean-looking trees..."

The murky shades of the forest suddenly yielded a flash of brilliant blue, and Kris stopped with a broad smile.

Adam walked - no, strutted - out into view, and bowed to them both with two graceful tilts of his long neck and his patterned wings slightly spread.

"Is that him??" Cale gasped, his eyes wide, "Well, if there's any bird that can make you overlook how you feel about their kind in general-"

"Shh," Kris waved at him, dismounting and approaching the beautiful creature. "Evening, Adam. This here is my friend, Cale. Looks like we're a little early - I hope you don't mind."

In response, Adam shook and fluttered his feathers almost violently, as if shaking off water. Before Kris could ask if he was alright, Adam's long tail blossomed out behind him, springing upright and spreading open like a magnificent fan. It was almost as tall as Kris; shimmering green and purple and gold as it gently waved and quivered, adorned generously with more than a hundred of those striking feather 'eyes' that had caught Kris's attention the evening before.

Kris's mouth fell open as he stared.

"I've seen this before," Cale whispered breathlessly, coming up beside Kris, "The turkeys and pheasants at the royal farms do it. That's a courting display, or I'm a sasquatch. You _definitely_  don't have anything to worry about."

"I'm gonna take your word for it," Kris mumbled, taking off his hat and bowing to Adam with a flourish. "You look splendid this evening, Adam. Consider my breath stolen from me."

Adam's chest swelled slightly, and he looked as pleased as a bird could be. Then, as the sun dipped below the horizon, he lowered his stunning tail and began the change.

Cale was still gaping when Adam held out a hand to him, smiling warmly. "Isn't this much better, now? Very pleased to meet you, Cale. Join us for a while, won't you?"

"Well, I-" Cale began, shaking Adam's proffered hand.

"He would love to," Kris cut in, "But he's a really busy man. There is just so much to do back at the castle! He was hard-pressed enough to find time to come out here with me today, but alas, that time has come to an end." He pointed firmly at the ground where they stood, arching his brow questioningly at Cale.

Cale met his gaze and nodded quickly. "Ah, yes! I really hate to leave so soon, but duty calls. I'll see you around, Adam! I mean, Your Highness..." He bowed in farewell and mounted Norris, turning back towards the village where he was to wait until Kris came to find him. Daniel's excellent library fib saw a reprise; and had been expanded to include Cale for that evening, so it was arranged that Torres and his wagons would facilitate their secret return home. After all, Kris had already given the palace staff a good shock the previous night, and they did not need another one in the midst of their preparations for the grand ball.

"What was that all about?" Adam inquired curiously as he settled behind Kris on Camellia's back.

"Secret language," Kris said mysteriously, clicking his tongue to get his mare moving.

They passed from under the darkening sky and into the mystical glow of the forest; Camellia carrying them at an easy gallop.

"This way, and keep going," Adam pointed northwest ahead of them before wrapping his arms snugly around Kris's middle, bringing their bodies enticingly close together. Kris allowed himself a self-indulgent smile.

Soon, he spotted the familiar woods bordering Adam's spot by the lake. There was a warm, golden glow filtering through the trees, which Kris soon found to be coming from dozens of lanterns hung with care from their branches. They were made of dried leaves and vines, bent branches and evergreen flowers, woven into variations of globes and cylinders by a practiced hand. Inside each of them burned a single candle; and a tantalizing scent was in the air.

"If I'd known there was going to be a party, I'd have brought more food," Kris threw Adam a playful look over his shoulder, causing their foreheads to bump. "This your work?"

"Not all. Danielle and Tommy helped me light the lanterns and set up a few things, since I didn't exactly have hands until some minutes ago," Adam explained as he set a round lantern spinning. "Oh," he added, noticing Kris's confused expression, "They would be the squirrel and the raccoon."

"I see," Kris nodded as they dismounted. He tethered Camellia to a narrow trunk to avoid any more untimely surprises, and fed her an apple to keep her spirits up. "Well, you sure make good use of your time."

Adam smiled modestly and took his hand, leading him to sit on a woollen blanket spread on the grass where two wooden bowls with matching spoons were laid out. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back." He hurried into the cave, and a minute later came back with a larger, covered bowl.

"I hope you can eat. We managed to make nut and root stew this evening in time for your arrival..." He sat cross-legged and nudged the warm bowl towards Kris, an expectant look in his eyes. "Don't mind the large chunks - paws aren't exactly made for fine slicing."

Kris lifted the bowl's lid and peered at the stew curiously. It was thick as chowder and boasted a selection of forest harvest he had never seen before. It was not terribly colourful, being all beige and brown, but it did smell very promising. He spooned the stuff into his mouth, sampling the new tastes and textures on his tongue.

The largest piece in his mouthful felt like potato and had the flavour of water chestnut. He discerned two types of small nuts - one rich and aromatic like a cashew, and the other with no distinct flavour, but which came apart in his mouth like a cooked pea. There was the taste of something like thyme in the earthy gravy, and a little less salt than he was used to. Finally, he swallowed the thoroughly explored mouthful. "Interesting..."

"Interesting, in a good way?" Adam asked, his hands clasped firmly together in his lap.

"That is definite. What's in it?"

"Rockwort, spear-root, splinterberry pits, toadskull nuts, two other nuts I don't have a name for, and wild thyme," Adam recited, counting the ingredients off his fingers, "Most of the spear-root actually dissolves into the broth to give it that nice thickness."

Kris tried not to visualize each of the items too literally based on their names. "At least I know thyme. And you - people - cooked this... in your animal forms?" Kris helped himself to another bite.

Adam nodded. "It wasn't easy. Danielle nearly set her tail on fire."

"Ouch," Kris winced. "Where are all of them, anyway?"

"Around, going about their usual business," Adam leaned in slightly and winked at him.

"Mmm," Kris raised an eyebrow knowingly, chewing with relish. The stew had a comforting quality to it; say what one may about its unusual taste. It was not long before Kris was scraping the bottom of his bowl with his spoon. "Alright, I'll have to hand it to you. This is pretty good. Mind if I bring some back for Cale to try?"

Adam seemed hugely relieved upon receiving Kris's approval. "Please do! I'm so happy you like it. I was actually nervous about letting you try my cooking."

"Then you may rest that worry, o Adam of many talents," Kris grinned, "Not many people know this, but I sometimes... fry my own eggs. Therefore, I certify this stew as perfectly decent for human consumption."

"They must be the princeliest of fried eggs!" Adam laughed, "I want to try some."

"I didn't bring my princely fried eggs, but I did pack these for you..." Kris got to his feet and went to dig in Camellia's saddlebag. He returned with a carefully-wrapped package and handed it to Adam, who eagerly opened it.

"You brought me frosted cinnamon cookies," Adam sighed blissfully, taking a whiff of the package's contents, "I adore them!"

"Yes, I did," Kris said proudly, "There's something wrong with anyone who doesn't like them, so I figured I'd get it right. 'Sides, you strike me as a desserts kind of fellow."

"Oh, I do love desserts," Adam gushed as he took a bite of one of the icing-topped rounds, "The more sinful, the better."

"He likes 'em sinful, he says." Kris propped his chin on his hands, watching Adam enjoy his gift by the soft light of the lanterns. "You have freckles," he noted absently.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Ugh, those pesky things? It's a good thing my skin doesn't see the sun these days, or I'd look like I have the pox."

"The pox??" Kris snorted, "Don't be ridiculous, Adam. You won't look like you have the pox until you have it. I don't think people tell you enough how good you look. You have great hair, for one."

"You think so?" Adam peered up at him, his eyes dancing, "And... what else caught your eye?"

Kris looked Adam up and down in what he hoped was an assessing manner, but registered nothing thanks to a sudden bout of bashfulness. It was quite daunting to openly study Adam when the other man was watching him so intently in turn. "Well... you're tall. Y-you're just a very striking person, as an overall statement, you know..."

"Tall, overall striking, great hair, pox-free," Adam recounted with amusement, "I can live with that. My turn, now."

Kris started. "Whuh?"

"When I first met you, Prince Kristopher, you were terrified of my bird form for reasons you preferred not to specify, and for other, more obvious reasons. But once that was out of the way, I saw a young man who was funny, and humble, with a truly kind heart. He had a healthy capacity for mischief, but in truth, there wasn't a single cruel vein in him. The reality of life had set his feet firmly on the ground, but he secretly thought of himself as something more than who he was as a person - and rightfully so - because hidden underneath that seemingly ordinary exterior was a man who dreams as a child does. And when he smiled, his eyes lit up with all those hidden dreams, and it seemed like his smile could light the entire world."

Kris sat in astounded silence, feeling a little overwhelmed by Adam's opinion of him, and wondering just how he had managed to pick up on all of that based on their short time together. The fearless dreamer in him warred with the moderate man he thought he was, throwing him into bewilderment over which of them was truly him, or if he was simply a confused combination of both... "You rehearsed that, didn't you?" he mumbled, "No, of course, you didn't. You don't fight fair..."

"I only said what I think about you," Adam shrugged gently, his eyes coyly averted, "Just my truth, no fighting."

"Well, then..." Kris grasped his lute strap and brought the instrument to his front, giving it an experimental strum which made Adam's face light up eagerly. "I think I owe you just as much, so let's try my part again. Now, this isn't any sort of epic ballad or anything. No one ever came up with an epic ballad in two hours, but here you go." Emboldened by the familiar presence of a lute in his hands, he began the song that had been forming in his mind since he woke that morning:

"I _wrote a song for you,_  
 _I hope you don't mind,_  
 _The words are simple, yes, it's true,_  
 _But they weren't easy to find..._

 _I was running from it all,_  
 _When you found me in the dark -_  
 _The dark that tried to bring you down,_  
 _But never killed your spark._  
 _When someone like you comes 'round,_  
 _You know it's awful rare;_  
 _To feel what I feel for you,_  
 _You know it's awful rare..._ "

Kris paused, licking his suddenly dry lips. He knew Adam had been watching him raptly the whole time, following each word and waiting expectantly for what came next. There was certainly a little something that came next, and before he backed out of it with cold feet, Kris dove into the subsequent verse:

"You _listen because you care,_  
 _And not because you must,_  
 _Though you lay out all my secrets bare;_  
 _I know you have my trust._

_When we said goodnight, I called you 'friend',_   
_But that don't match the score,_   
_'Cause I came to realize in the end:_   
_You're really so much more._

_You shake me up, I can't pretend,_   
_Especially when you tease;_   
_But the way you smile and hold my hand?_   
_That's alright with me,_   
_You know it's alright with me, even if_   
_I hear your voice in my sleep,_   
_And walk around in a daze;_   
_Feels like I've fallen in deep_   
_Just thinking about your ways._

_You're the song I played to_   
_When my melody was lost,_   
_Now I know I'd fight for you,_   
_No matter what the cost._

_I can't say I'm all that wise,_   
_In matters of romance,_   
_All I'll say is, against your eyes,_   
_The stars don't stand a chance._

_I wrote this song for you,_  
 _So that you would see:_  
 _That I love you, Adam, yes, it's true,_  
 _And I hope that you love me._ "

The moment he finished, Kris stilled his strings and reached across the blanket to take Adam's hand. "I can't think of anyone else I'd want to share the rest of my life with. Will you come to my engagement ball at the palace tomorrow night, as my personal guest?"

Adam simply stared at him, motionless except for the rise and fall of his chest with every deep breath. The start of several different emotions flitted across his face, never quite taking full form, as if he were locked in an internal argument of some sort. "What are you doing?" he half-whispered, eyeing Kris incredulously.

Kris felt his heart dip dangerously towards his stomach. Adam would get over his disbelief before long, and then he was going to laugh at him. "Marrying you," Kris answered through the lump in his throat, "Breaking the curse."

Adam did not laugh. In fact, now that Kris had a moment to notice it, Adam seemed just as on edge as he himself was. Wishing he could read minds, he bit his lower lip and pushed ahead. "And, after that, we'll go wherever we have to, if it means we can find someone or something to free your friends and the rest of your kingdom."

He paused, flexing his rigid fingers as he recalled that the love stories he knew mostly ended one way or the other. "That is, if you love me back... It's fine if you don't. Actually, it's not fine at all, for a number of reasons. One of them being the unrequited love thing, and the other being that this whole curse-breaking thing won't work if you... awkward. This is so awkward, and I swear I didn't just threaten you. I'm sorry. Please don't tell me to leave."

"You're crazy..." Adam said, his voice strangely hoarse.

"For you?" Kris finished with a sheepish grin, then mentally clubbed himself on the head for being a complete idiot and cheesier than aged brie.

For a long, horrific moment, it seemed like Adam was going to burst into tears. But then he leaned forward on his hands and knees, grasped Kris by the back of his neck, and cracked their foreheads together.

Adam yelped in pain; then gasped in mortification, his hands flying to his mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry! Are you alright?!"

Kris blinked and massaged his smarting skull. "First things first, Adam," he said slowly, raising a finger before Adam could fuss all over him, "Did you mean to do that? Because I might have deserved it."

Adam shook his head rapidly. "No! Not at all. It's just... I can't say I've ever had practice with another person," he smiled apologetically.

"What do you practice with, then? The raccoon?" Kris arched an eyebrow, quite unsure if he was joking with Adam or asking him a perfectly legitimate question, and of what indeed it was that Adam was supposed to be practicing.

"That's none of your business," Adam grinned, pushing the bowls out of the way and closing the space between them. "This is what I meant to do..."

Kris felt Adam's fingers brush his ears and the short hair around them, light and hesitant as if looking for a place to settle. Their faces were startlingly close, and he saw Adam's clear gaze wander searchingly from his eyes to his mouth; felt his warm breath whisper across his lips...

_Kristopher, you marvellously thick oaf. He was going to say yes. He was going to say-_

Their noses bumped gently. Adam laughed softly and tilted his head a little, and then their lips met before either of them was prepared for it. Adam's eyes widened, then fluttered closed, and Kris's followed suit. The world melted away, and he only knew warm hands caressing his face and hair, tender lips pressed to his, hot and moist breath mingling on their skin and turning cool in the night air. He leaned into Adam, wrapping his arms snugly around the other man's back. He felt the heartbeat of his first love against his own chest, its quick rhythm interjecting his own.

The nagging voice in Kris's head had nothing left to say.

The kiss was briefer than the blissful eternity that Kris imagined it to be, but soon he began to feel strangely short of breath. Reluctantly, he pulled away. When he opened his eyes, it felt like he had just woken from a long and restful sleep.

"I'll go," Adam said in a voice so soft that Kris almost missed it. The lantern light glinted off Adam's eyes, which were wet and glistening with tears of joy. "I'll go anywhere with you."

Kris smiled broadly and rested his head on Adam's shoulder, catching the faint scent of herbs and fresh dew. He felt light and happy, like everything in the world had finally been set right. "Good."

"What happens now?"

"Must you ask, Adam? I was having a moment."

Adam laughed, the wonderful sound resonating within his chest and making Kris's ear hum pleasantly. "If I'm going to a ball, I had better learn how to dance, right?"


	5. Arrivals

They had started out conventionally enough. Adam asked Kris to provide a little music, and held on to Kris's shoulders, mirroring the regimented waltz steps that Kris showed him, the lute between them providing their rhythm.

Adam turned out to be a fast learner of choreography, but tired of it just as quickly. Kris soon found that he was no longer leading the dance, and his carefully practiced steps were thrown out the window as Adam propelled and spun him about, eventually making playing his lute impossible. He took off the instrument and set it against the rock bench, opening his arms good-humouredly to welcome whatever Adam had in mind.

Dancing was not at the fore of Kris's list of pastimes, and hardly something that he did outside of the exasperatingly formal balls and soirées his mother was obligated to host. Still, he swayed and sidestepped easily, adding a deliberately showy turn now and then to make Adam laugh.

Watching Adam dance was a joy. He moved like he knew nothing of courtly dances and could not care less about them. He made up his own steps to the music in his head, his outstretched arms exhibiting their own expressive grace, reminding Kris of the wild and carefree travelling gypsies he had seen dancing at his first market fair.

Kris had thought his partner lost to his own private rapture, when Adam took his hands and pulled him close, spinning them round and around until they were both dizzy and breathless with laughter.

They kissed once, rested in each other's arms, and then they danced some more until their feet hurt and their arms were tired.

Armed with those memories, Kris relived each exquisite moment and every precious touch of the night before, escaping whenever he could from the otherwise excruciating preparations leading up to the grand ball that night.

He started the morning with a hearty breakfast of freshly-baked rye bread, honey cured ham, poached eggs, and dark cherry pudding with cream. After that, he found little else about the morning as enjoyable.

First, the ever-enthusiastic grooming team swept into his room, effectively ruining any hope of him getting away with a hint of rebellious stubble, though they were kind enough to let him keep his carefully cultivated sideburns. They tamed his hair into an unnaturally smooth wave sweeping back from his forehead, which reminded Kris disturbingly of his Aunt Emilie's overly-combed Maltese.

Following that was the unfortunate appearance of his and Daniel's etiquette advisor, Lady Thelma, whom Daniel once pointed out as a nightmarish cross between Swordmaster Valerian and a speech-trained parrot. She ran through the usual conversational topics to check the appropriateness of Kris's responses, nagged him about his posture, and made him walk up and down the room with a book balanced on his head for good measure.

He was grateful when he thought that Cale had come to save him from Lady Thelma's archaic courting tutorial, but he had only come to inform Kris that Princess Alexis and her entourage from the small but enchanting kingdom of Etherdown had arrived unexpectedly early. Kris was forced prematurely into his princely finery, which irritated the back of his neck with its ridiculous ruffled collar, and tasked with keeping the princess and her two hunting-obsessed male cousins entertained over lunch (he avoided eating the roasted pheasant) until he was thankfully called away to see his mother.

In the privacy of her chambers, the Queen was hardly jubilant, understanding fully well the sacrifice she was asking of her dear son for the sake of royal duty and the critical scrutiny of those who upheld it so staunchly. Kris almost told her about Adam just to make her feel better, but decided that she would be more than alright once she saw Adam for herself. Besides, by the time the wedding was announced, everyone would be far too excited and happy to notice the fact that Kris had been sneaking out of the castle and into Darkbough Forest alone - which would get a lot of people into big trouble.

"This ring represents a promise," the Queen told him as she showed him a simple band made of gold, cushioned by velvet in a polished wooden box, "It has been passed down through each generation of Arkanseld's royal heirs since the beginning of our kingdom. It was imbued with magic during its forging - it will perfectly fit the finger of the one you choose to marry."

She smiled distantly, as if recalling a fond memory. "Your father placed this same ring on me to represent the pledge of his heart until our wedding, at which this ring was replaced with the affirmation of his everlasting love." She held up her left hand, where a stunning ruby gleamed on her finger. "After you, Daniel will do the same for his own intended."

Kris carefully took the box from her, studying the golden band. It had no adornments or engravings, but the reflections on its surface seemed to swell and break like the waves of the ocean. He imagined that he would take Adam's hand and kiss it, slipping the ring on as he did so. Or perhaps he would show it to Adam first, grandly announce its significance, and then put it on him...

"Why, Kristopher, are you daydreaming?" the Queen chuckled, quickly picking up on the signs that her son was no longer fully present.

"Maybe, Mom," Kris grinned, "It's just a feeling, but I don't think either of us has anything to worry about."

"Of course not. I trust you will make the very best of whatever happens. You're _my_  son, after all!" The Queen cupped his face and kissed him tenderly on both cheeks, her eyes twinkling. "Keep it safe with you. Now, off you go. Plenty more to do before we're done with today."

Kris strolled down the hallway, a spring in his step and the promise ring fastened around his neck on a sturdy chain under his shirt. He thought of heading to the kitchen to 'sample' a few of the desserts Charles was preparing for the grand dinner that night, when the herald yelled that Prince Daniel (that name, or variations of it, was apparently very popular amongst nobles) from the mountainous kingdom of Wiscosta had arrived.

'Danny', as he preferred to be called, dressed like a refined version of a woodland ranger, and no doubt had the skills to match, which immediately made Kris wary of what they would probably end up talking about. He also had a healthy patch of stubble on his chin which aroused Kris's envy. Surprisingly, Danny's primary hobby turned out to be composing poetry, and they exchanged some notes over light chicken sandwiches before Danny had to hurry off to mollify his troupe of complaining family members, who all seemed to have caught various allergies during their long journey away from the pristine mountain air.

From then on, there seemed to be an endless chain of arrivals to the palace that Kris had to greet and make small talk with. Anyone who looked out towards the town below could see almost all its inhabitants gathered in the gaily-decorated streets to catch a glimpse of the foreign royals as they rode in.

One of the royals whose infamy literally preceded him was Prince Matthew of somewhere Kris could not catch the name of, mostly due to the excited chatter of the young maidservants. Matthew rode on a white horse in the open instead of inside a carriage like the others, strumming a lute almost tunelessly and singing robustly about someone or somewhere called Georgia ('like a common minstrel', Lady Thelma had sniffed as she reprimanded and scattered the besotted maidservants from the receiving hall). He had curly brown hair and an inexhaustible sense of humour. Once he found the grand piano in the recital room, he refused to leave it, soaking up the attention of his persistent female admirers as he played and sang.

Now there was someone he would really like to talk to if he had the time, Kris thought to himself as he hurried to the courtyard following news that Princess Megan of Fairbanks had hurt her ankle stepping out of her coach in a tantrum. Clearly, she was a victim of duty as much as he was, but far more outspoken about it, as Kris found out from the tongue-lashing he got from her when she caught him joking with the orderly as the nurse bandaged her foot.

As Megan limped to her appointed guestroom with her personal guards, grumbling about why she never got to do anything she wanted, Kris wondered what Adam was doing at the moment. It was anyone's guess, really, if Adam could make root stew and oversee outdoor decorating all whilst in the form of a bird - never mind that he had help. Whatever it was, he was likely spending as much time as he could with his brother and friends. It would be the last time he saw them for as long as it took for him and Kris to undo Malady's magic.

There were three hours left before sundown. In two, Cale would set out to wait for Adam at the forest's edge, as Kris and his distinguished guests headed to dinner. Adam would arrive in time for the ball later, and after that... well, both their lives would be utterly changed.

Kris hummed happily to himself as he went to meet the next arrival, Prince something-or-other, and wondered just how successful he would be in wrangling a seat between Matthew and Danny at dinner.

======

Adam rested in the soft grass near the edge of the woods, watching the sky through the trees. His feathers ruffled slightly in the breeze; his vibrant colours dulled in the approaching dusk. It was not long now before the change, but waiting can be a torturous thing, especially with its tendency to allow doubt to creep into even the most determined of minds.

By then, Adam had already argued down his fair share of doubt with what he reckoned was some rather solid reasoning. To him, at least, it seemed that Mother Nature and Father Time themselves had conspired to bring about his unlikely meeting with Kris, even as Destiny interwove their paths in such a way that their individual dilemmas seemed to conveniently solve the other. Kris could fulfil his obligation to marry a fellow royal and actually be happy about it, and in doing so would free Adam from Malady forever. With powers like that at their back, their plan could not possibly go wrong.

Yes, it sounded about as ruthless as a marriage of convenience, if one were to look at it with a cold and calculating eye. But that did not dampen Adam's belief that it was love - and not convenience - that ruled both their decisions. He knew it for his part, at least. Over a mere two days, he had come to know the indescribable joy and fulfilment that came with Kris's presence, as well as the crushing fear that came with the thought that he might never see Kris again if he did not _do something_.

And as for what Kris felt for him... well, Adam figured he had enough to put his faith in. Naïve as it sounded, he simply _knew_. He personally held that if each person were to set aside the clutter of their minds and listen to their hearts, they would find that some things were indeed certain - things that rules and calculations could never explain, but were no less true.

The daylight faded, and the young night cast the sky into shades of purple and blue, dotted with the earliest stars.

It was time to go.

He took a deep, shuddering breath and turned to face his younger brother and the only friends he had known since the tragedy took everything else away from them.

"Alright, everyone. Come here," he opened his arms wide to welcome the barrage of fur and feathers as his beloved companions leapt and climbed on him in a flurry of wings and paws, except for Sutan, who butted his large head against his affectionately.

His hands and arms were full as he dragged out his farewell to each of them, hugging the ones he could and nuzzling the others. Neil gave him a light peck on the cheek with his long beak, making Adam smile. "Aww, you were holding out on me all this time?"

Neil muttered a little, then let out a long, despondent note that sounded like a sigh. Adam cradled his younger brother's little body to his cheek as his eyes stung and began to well up. But he refused to ruin the moment with a messy outburst, so he kept back his tears. After all, it was not 'goodbye' forever, and he decided he should remember it as such. "I don't know what's going to happen," he whispered, "I just know I'll miss all of you so much."

There was nothing more that he had not told them already, but the hardest part was still walking away from them and the life he had come to know, into a world where nothing was certain except for Kris.

But walk he did, over the dull grass and past the trees that bordered his home - no, prison - his heart pounding and his fingertips numb as they brushed absently over the low-growing foliage.

In the silence around him, he heard the branches rustle briefly. And then came the steady beat of wings, coming up right behind him. The air shifted, and he ducked just before filthy black talons would have torn into his scalp. He looked up, alarmed, and the blood drained from his face.

Azar, a hideous and corrupted shade of the majestic crested hawks that once made their home in the treetops of Darkbough Forest before it earned its infamous name, flew ahead to perch on the shoulder of his mistress.

Now that she had finally returned to the land she was bound to, a deep green lustre was beginning to spread through her hair, which flowed down to her knees in a rolling river of black. The simple gown that she wore for travel took on its own life as its hem brushed the soil, flourishing in colour and texture until it seemed that she was clothed in the very essence of her forest. Her olive-skinned face, chiselled like a statue's and just as cold, was impassive as it regarded him.

"You don't look too pleased to see me, Adam," Malady said in a voice low and haunting, like the winds that swept across the moorlands. "Have I interrupted something?"

Adam met her gaze steadily, revealing none of the rising panic that was threatening to stifle him. "I came out here to welcome you back, Éonora," he addressed her by what she had told him was her preferred name, "I thought you might like to see a friendly face."

Malady glanced at Azar. "Thoughtful as always, isn't he? The dear boy."

Adam smiled at her. Whichever way this was going to turn out, he had to get Malady to leave the edge of the forest before Cale arrived, which could be at any moment then. He was not sure if he could convince Malady to spare Cale, especially if the hapless man showed up dressed in the attire of a royal servant, leading a riderless horse in addition to the one he rode.

Before he could say a word, a hand as strong as if it were made of living steel grabbed the hair at the back of his head, yanking on it so hard that lights flashed in his vision. He grasped uselessly at the slender arm that was making his eyes water in pain as its grip forced him to his knees. He stared up into Malady's amber eyes, which blazed with a fiery rage.

"It is a cruel blow to find out that you've been lied to all along, Adam," she said quietly, every word laced with the hurt of betrayal, "I sent Azar ahead of me to see through his eyes if you were well. Instead, I discover that while your words to me are loving and your gestures kind, you would not hesitate to abandon me at your first opportunity. As if that were not enough, you would then search the known world for a way to forever rid yourself of me."

Dizzy with pain and sickening dread, Adam could only grip her wrist and kick up leaves as she dragged him roughly across the ground by his hair. "We can't go on like this forever, Éonora!" he cried desperately, "Why can't you just _let go_ , for both our sakes?!"

Malady stopped and turned on him. "All my existence," she shouted as the branches above them shuddered, "I have asked for very little - only what is entitled to every last wretched soul on this earth! Yet, each time, I was denied and cast aside. I was a fool to think you might be different, but you were the worst of them all for deceiving me when others would simply spit in my face."

Not caring to hear what Adam had to say in reply, she seized him bodily and sped with him through the whispering woods, riding the shifting shadows like she was one of them herself, until they came to the entrance of the lakeside cave where they both made their home. She threw him onto the floor of its gaping mouth, and he yelped as his shoulder slammed against the hard ground.

Adam's friends who were gathered by the banks stared for a moment in horror, then leapt or flew up from where they sat, growling, hissing, and screeching hostilely. They charged forward, baring whatever weapons their animal forms yielded them, but with a sharp wave of Malady's arm, they scattered, gasping and howling in agony.

"I made a mistake by letting my guard down. Now, I'm going to fix it..." Malady dug her fingers into the earth, and thick, gnarled vines began to grow out of it, twisting and knotting like a mass of deformed worms until they completely barred the entrance to the cave.

Adam stumbled to his feet and pressed against the stiff tangle of vines, reaching his arm imploringly through one of the gaps. "Don't hurt them, please," he begged, "And... don't hurt _him_. It's not his fault. I tricked him into following me..."

Malady gave him a tight smile devoid of any sympathy. "Silly boy, of course I won't hurt him. I imagine that would make you very upset with me. I will only make sure that I keep what is mine."

She took his outstretched arm with a tender hand, looked at it thoughtfully, then unsheathed her dagger and pressed its blade hard against the underside of his forearm. Adam gasped sharply and tried to pull away, but she held his wrist firmly in place until bright red blood spilled out and coated the blade generously.

Without another word, she turned and crossed the clearing, ignoring Adam's whimper of pain as he clutched his trembling, bleeding arm. "Azar. Come here, my dear," she called, holding her free arm out so that her circling pet could land on it. Adam saw the hawk's gleaming, gloating yellow eyes stare out at him from the gloom just before Malady tipped her blood-drenched blade to its beak.

As their figures vanished into the shifting shadows, Adam felt his knees buckle beneath him. He felt ill and he was terrified. The dagger wound bled over his clenched knuckles and burned like it was on fire. His mind had thankfully blanked, because if he so much as thought about Kris at that moment, his heart would surely shatter. The glimmering eyes of his friends dotted the darkness outside, blinking sadly at him.

As he lay crumpled against the wall of vines with his head in his hands, a soft scuffling noise in front of him drew his gaze to two small figures illuminated by the magical lamplight. He blinked back the tears that blurred his vision, and saw that Danielle and Tommy had been shut in with him.

"I'm so sorry," he croaked, "I wanted to save all of you... so badly..."

Danielle chattered sharply, as if reproaching him, and scampered onto his knee to offer him a dried moss ball. Tommy set a wooden bowl down at his feet, the water in it sloshing madly about and spilling a little. They looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to make the next move.

Adam stared back at them, completely still. Then, his eyes hardened with resolve. He took the moss ball from Danielle with his good arm and dipped it into the bowl of water. "Stuff this crap. We're busting out of this hole."


	6. Bewitched, Bothered

"You're absolutely sure he's going to turn up?" whispered Princess Katherine over Kris's shoulder, following his gaze to the entrance of the grand ballroom.

" _Whuh?_ " Kris started and spun around to face her, an exaggerated smile on his face, "Yes, I'm fine, thank you!!"

Katherine blinked in puzzlement, then took him by the shoulders and shook him gently, speaking to him as if he were a child. "You really have to get it together, Kris. Some of the guests are starting to think you're strange. You don't want Prince Anoop telling everyone that you once wanted to eat his turban when you're King one day, do you?"

"But it looks so much like a bread roll... with jam..." Kris protested weakly. In an unusual twist to his daily routine, he had barely been able to eat anything at dinner, having entertained half the arrivals with multiple 'tea times' throughout the afternoon. In addition to that, the lower the sun dipped in the sky, the more the butterflies in his stomach felt like angry hornets.

"If he's the kind of man you say he is, he'll be here," Katherine assured him as she ushered him to the middle of the resplendent hall. The conductor cued his musicians to start the first dance of the night, and the regally-attired guests crowded about them in couples, laughing and chatting merrily.

If not for Adam's arrival later, Kris thought to himself as he glanced about, he would certainly be the toast of ladies-in-waiting gossip for months to come, since it seemed that at least a dozen of his 'suitors' would decide to marry each other before Kris could even learn all their names. At least, that would save them the hassle of having their own singles ball thrown for them one day...

Would Adam think he looked funny when he saw him later? In his fancy white finery and silver crown, Kris was sure he was overdressed as a wedding cake.

"Kristopher, where are you?" Katherine teased him, breaking his train of thought.

"Right here," he smiled fondly at his only other confidant besides Cale about his meeting with Adam, and led her into the dance. She had hair like morning sunshine, which bounced about as they stepped to the lively music, and the face of a porcelain doll. At first, he had expected her to be yet another pampered little princess, but instead found her warm and easy to talk to. And not only did she dream of escaping her stuffy palace life to become a player on the dramatic stage, she had also met Adam before.

"She's very good," he had heard Katherine remark, after Arkanseld's finest soprano had finished her aria to officially open the ball, "Every now and then, you hear a voice that sticks in your head and never leaves. I, personally, can't forget the time I visited the Sunstone Kingdom and heard its Crown Prince sing..."

That was all it took for Kris to bolt forward and snatch her aside, to the chagrin of her aunt and just about everyone nearby, and interrogate everything she knew about Adam out of her. She did not slap him across the face, which was very fortunate, now that Kris reflected on his undignified introduction to her.

The first thing that had impressed Katherine about the townspeople of Sunstone was how colourful they were - not just in their unusual and sometimes flamboyant sense of dress, but also in how they behaved and lived. They were free-spirited and outstandingly artistic, and were known to greet every reason for celebration with some kind of party.

Prince Adam was perhaps seven or eight years of age at the time, and chubby ("Chubby?" Kris had asked dubiously, before Katherine shushed him) and rosy-cheeked as the common perception of a cherub. Unlike the young royals elsewhere, who spent their playtime in the company of nursemaids and other such 'appropriate' companions, Adam and his younger brother, Neil, played with the children of the town.

After much convincing of her mother by herself, King Eber, and Queen Leila, Katherine was allowed to follow Adam and Neil out to play with the townspeople's children in the flower gardens under the watchful eye of the palace guards and his nursemaid. Katherine had the memory of an elephant, Kris thought, as she described her delightful company on that day:

Prince Neil was quite tired of people remarking that he did not look much like Adam. He had a mop of curly dark brown hair, and a very sharp and practical mind for one so young. He never hesitated to say exactly what he thought, and often got teased for acting old ahead of his time.

Thomas, or Tommy, as he insisted he be called, was a small boy, with long eyelashes and flaxen hair. He had an affinity for playing the lute, which he had taught himself. He enjoyed the most macabre of stories, and was gleefully obsessed with the notion that his great-grandmother haunted the attic of his house.

Danielle was a very pretty girl with large eyes and flowing chestnut-brown hair, some of which was braided thinly with small wooden beads at the ends. She was almost like a sister to Adam, that much was apparent. She liked to write songs, and was in love with the newly-invented harpsichord.

Fun-loving Terrance had darker skin than the others, and wore deep colours and many necklaces made of seeds and feathers. Katherine was sure that he belonged to one of the gypsy camps that clustered about the kingdom from time to time, especially from the spontaneous and passionate way that he danced.

Sutan was the tallest of the group, with long and slender limbs, and a face that would one day be handsome in an exotic and elegant manner. His clothes were long and flowing and he wore a lot of what could be his mother's jewellery. He seemed very worldly about things beyond the knowledge of ordinary children, and adamantly refused to roll about in the dirt like most boys his age.

In this circle of wonderfully interesting youngsters, Adam was the obvious leader. He had boundless energy and plenty of things to say, and he would say them very expressively. He had written a musical performance for them to stage for his mother's upcoming birthday celebration, and they were to rehearse it that afternoon.

Katherine did not recall what the musical was about, if indeed it had an actual story, but she only knew that when Adam stood atop a bench and sang a song about freedom and the joy of life, she was entranced by the sound that spilled from his lips. He was both commanding and compelling; at the same time strong and vulnerable. The townsfolk within earshot stopped what they were doing to gather in the garden and listen to him...

Caught up in his thoughts and the pleasant company of his new friend as they danced, Kris barely noticed the collective murmur that started from the main entrance of the ballroom until it reached him and Katherine. The couples on that end of the hall had slowed or stopped their dancing, and the other guests crowding the area receded like a wave from the shore, staring and whispering, to reveal the cause of the disruption.

Adam stood framed by the great doorway, seeming to tower over those around him, completely still except for his gaze, which warily regarded the other guests. He took a tentative step forward, and his eyes met Kris's.

Adam smiled, ever so slightly, and strode across the room towards him. All of his clothes, fit for the most exalted of princes, were as black as his hair, which was swept high over his head like the flaming crest of a phoenix. His collar flared around his neck like the single petal of a calla lily, and a constellation of black sapphires decorated his breast. Raven feathers sprouted from beneath his shoulder shells; rich fabric clung to his long arms and legs. His embossed boot-tops extended over his knees, and their heels added two more inches to his height. The doublet he wore with a belt of shimmering white opals did not end at his waist as it usually would, but continued into a train that only just swept the floor and billowed out behind him as he walked.

As Adam bowed low and gracefully before him, Kris felt the breath rush from his lungs. Yes, he knew that Adam possessed a certain beauty one could only be born with, but dressed like this tonight, he was undeniably stunning. The skilful application of powder made his skin appear inhumanly flawless. His eyes were thickly lined and shaded with black kohl, giving them a look of mystery and a hint of danger.

Kris felt Katherine move forward cautiously, as if she intended to re-introduce herself to her old acquaintance. Instead, she halted and then stepped away, her skirts clutched tightly in her hands, leaving Adam and Kris alone in the middle of the floor.

It was the first time Kris had ever seen Adam in the sort of lighting he was accustomed to. And now that he finally knew the exact colour of his beloved's captivating eyes - the striking hue of yellow diamonds - everything seemed perfect in the world.

"About time you showed up," he said, careful not to let his voice betray his surging emotions, "I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind."

"Nonsense. How could I possibly resist you?" Adam replied, smoother than silk.

"Kristopher...?" the Queen called anxiously, rising from her throne at the end of the hall. The guards had broken out of the stupor that still held most of the guests, and were prepared to defend their prince should he be in peril from this darkly entrancing stranger.

"It's alright, Mother," Kris called back, "He's here as my personal guest."

Another murmur swept the room, louder this time, as curiosity and speculation ran rife.

"I think they should wait a little more before I drop it on them who you really are," Kris grinned to Adam, feeling incredibly smug that the finest folk in the land held nothing compared to the man he loved. "May I have the great honour of a dance with you?"

"Always," Adam whispered, wrapping a strong arm about his waist and pulling him close.

Kris felt himself falling, falling into realms he had never imagined exploring, as he stared deep into Adam's eyes. It was a little hard to breathe, a little hard to concentrate with the blood pounding hotly through his veins. Still, he managed to signal the conductor to start the music.

As if he were ready and waiting, Adam moved right on cue, sweeping Kris around the floor with his firm hold and sure steps. Kris stumbled a little at first, being used to leading, but all those dancing lessons did him good as he eventually found his footing. That Adam - he was a very fast learner.

Hesitantly, the other couples returned to the floor to join in the waltz. As they spun past, they stared - some openly, some discreetly - at Adam, if they were not deliberately steering close to do just that. Kris could not care less. In a few minutes, they would have even more cause to gawk and gossip.

Adam was unusually silent. The night before, as they had danced by the lantern-lit lakeside, Adam had hardly ever stopped talking or laughing. Perhaps, beneath his present apparent calm, he was nervous. After all, he had spent a good part of his life isolated from conventional society.

Not that Kris was complaining much about the lack of conversation. At that moment, it was more than enough to drink in his breathtaking partner; to feel as much of him as possible. In fact, he found himself craving Adam's touch with an urgency that both startled and disturbed him even more than the strange sensations in the pit of his belly. They were no butterflies, or even hornets.

He could not hold Adam's gaze for much longer - it was overwhelming. He stared at the ornate silver clasps on Adam's chest instead, but caught himself when he found his thoughts straying to undoing those clasps, and discovering what secrets lay hidden underneath all that clothing.

He shook his head hard to set it right, his face and ears burning with mortification. He was no cad or letch - he was a Crown Prince and a proper gentleman. Why was he suddenly thinking of tumbling into bed with Adam - attractive as he was - before they were even married, when it seemed that companionship and chaste kisses were more than enough before? What on Earth was the matter with him?

"Are you alright?" Adam asked, slowing his steps.

"Dizzy," Kris lied, deeply embarrassed, "You go pretty fast..."

Adam gave him a look that he could not quite decipher for certain. Was it... satisfaction? "We can take it slow, don't you worry," he murmured, almost purring.

"Sure," Kris nodded his agreement stiffly. The sensible half of him quite regretted doing so a moment later, when Adam pulled him into a boldly intimate embrace and simply swayed him to the music.

This was improper - utterly improper, his outraged mind shouted at him. _Nobody_  who had a remotely respectable social standing danced like this in public, especially not at the Queen's ball.

As for his other half - the letch and the cad - well, it was significantly more pleased. They were close enough now to meld into each other. Adam's large, warm hands caressed his back, and his own arms wrapped tight about Adam's waist. It was scandalously ideal, except that the stones adorning Adam's clothing were digging into his face and the raven feathers tickled his nose. It was un-princely and Lady Thelma would have a seizure if she heard it, but _he wanted those damned clothes off._

To his relief, the waltz soon came to a close, and they broke apart before Kris burst his seams. He clasped his right hand and brought it over his heart, bowing low and awkwardly to Adam, who responded with a gentle dip of his body, his arms spread gracefully to the sides as if they were wings.

The guests applauded the dance, and in the downplayed music that followed, fell back to talking in hushed tones amongst themselves. Only Princess Katherine stood alone, not speaking to anyone, merely gazing at Adam with obvious bewilderment on her lovely face.

"Well, Adam..." Kris drew in a shaky breath, "This is it, I suppose. I'm going to make the announcement. Can you believe it? We're gonna _do_  this."

Adam nodded, infuriatingly calm. "Of course. But can I just say something, Kris?"

Kris tilted his head curiously. "Yeah?"

"As the only remaining human heir to the throne of the Sunstone Kingdom, I want to make it officially known that my kingdom will go by the name of Blackstone, until the day we undo the curse on its people."

"Are you sure?" Kris frowned, "Don't you want people to-"

"Also, I am casting aside my name."

"Y-" Kris blinked, "What?"

"The one called Adam was foolish and weak. But my tribulations and your love have made me strong, and enabled me to finally break free of my bonds. From now on, I wish to be called Azar. In the tongue of the Persians, it means 'fire'. Fire took all I knew from me, and fire will help me reclaim it."

"Wow," Kris breathed, a little taken aback by Adam's - no, Azar's - sudden intensity. "Alright, that makes sense, I guess. 'Azar' does suit you, I suppose, if you're gonna make a habit out of dressing like this..."

Azar took his hand, squeezing it slightly, and smiled. "Thank you. Shall we?"

"We don't have all night," Kris grinned at him over the frenetic beat of his heart. Walking side by side, they crossed the floor through the crowd of stunned guests, and bowed before the Queen.

"I have made my choice, Mother," Kris said quietly, so that only she and Azar could hear, "I know it seems abrupt and unexpected, but I know it in my heart when I am guided by destiny. Three days ago, a storm drove me into Darkbough Forest-"

The Queen's eyes widened. "What in the world were you doing near Darkbough Forest??" she whispered sharply.

"Please let me finish, Mom," Kris held up his hand, "What matters is, in that forsaken place, I found the light of the Sunstone Kingdom, who is now also the light of my heart. He goes by a different name now, but you knew him as the Crown Prince, Adam."

"Adam...?" the Queen gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she stared at her son's imposing companion in bafflement, "Is it really you?"

Kris resisted the urge to sigh out his impatience. So Azar had yellow eyes, and he had made quite a statement with his grand entrance and eccentric appearance. And he was no longer a chubby little cherub. _Wrap your heads around it, already._

"Pardon me, gracious Majesty," Azar lowered his gaze respectfully, "I have chosen the name of Azar for myself, to mark great change that has happened, and will soon happen again in my life. Your gallant son has saved me from the impossible, and I love him with all my heart and soul."

Kris swelled with pride at Azar's words, but there would be time to fully demonstrate his appreciation for them later. "Azar and I must be married as soon as possible," he told his mother, "He is under a curse that transforms him into a bird by day. If we don't break the curse with our wedding vows before sunrise, he will never be able to take human form again."

The Queen sat as still as a statue, and just as speechless. Kris felt rather bad; understandably, it would come as a shock to anyone to hear a story like that out of the blue. "Do we have your blessing on our union, Mother?" he added delicately.

"If it is fate and love, as you both say," said the Queen at last, her words laden with emotion, "Then you have my wholehearted blessing, my dear, dear boys. But it will take time to prepare for a wedding of such significance, though I will ensure that formalities and ceremony will not delay you both any more than it needs to."

Kris broke into a wide smile. "Thank you, Mom."

He took Azar's hand, lowering his voice still more as he spoke to him. "Just in case of, you know, things not going as planned, I just had this thought that I should make my vow to you right now, in front of all these people. We're getting married in a few hours, anyway, so what I say now should be perfectly legitimate... is that right?"

"I long to hear the words," Azar whispered back, his eyes gleaming.

Heartened, Kris turned to face the guests, who looked back at him expectantly. Clasping Azar's hand in his, he spoke aloud to them in the stately manner that he had been trained to employ in public from the time he was no longer a child:

"The story that you may have heard is true, there was a prince imprisoned in Darkbough Forest. Though he and his kingdom no longer bear the names they were given before, he is still the man who owns my heart. I hereby announce that I have chosen Azar, Crown Prince of Blackstone, to share my life and to rule beside me. The wedding will take place this very night, before the break of day."

Then, it seemed like a dam had broken, and an outpouring of varied sentiments rose up from the crowd. Before nerves could make him falter, Kris dropped on one knee before Azar.

"Azar," he said loudly and clearly, "I make you this vow - which I have never given to anyone before - that I will love you with all that I have, and remain true to you with every fibre of my being, until the end of my days and ever after."

He undid the chain about his neck and removed the precious gold band from it, and slid it onto Azar's ring finger. The enchanted metal glimmered, and fitted around Azar's finger as if it were made for him. "This is my promise to you, until we are made one," Kris murmured, "Love of my life."

He reflected for a moment to make sure he had not left anything out. Contented with his speech, he kissed the pale hand of his beloved as the sound of applause grew and filled the great hall.

======

With a frustrated yell, Adam hurled a fistful of dirt at the vines that kept him trapped in what he no longer considered his home, having exhausted everything else that could be thrown at them to any helpful effect. Those items lay at his feet where they had fallen, battered and broken from his efforts.

His hair was wild, and his tired arms were scratched where the vines had lashed him whenever he tried to cut or break them, or even dig them up. His friends had done more than their share as well, but it was not much use, since they were all far smaller than he was save for Sutan, whose antlers only got horribly tangled in the mass of devil-vegetation when he tried to ram into it.

Panting, Adam stepped away from the cave exit to check if the soft leaf-bandages protecting his knifed forearm were still intact. Finding them secure, he let out a great sigh. "This is stupid. So... incredibly... stupid..."

Tommy hurried into view from the depths of the cave, grunting as he dragged a large covered clay pot behind him. Danielle trailed him closely, carrying a tall candle left over from the previous night's decorations.

"That's my candle-making stuff..." Adam began, pointing at the pot - and then, it dawned on him. "You two... are _geniuses_."

When he had heated the pot enough over the ember-stone he used as a stove, the chunks of tallowseed fat in it had melted into thick, fragrant oil. He gathered the dried twigs and leaves - items from his handicraft supplies - that he had fashioned into knotted balls the size of his fist, and soaked each of them thoroughly in the fuel.

The oil cooled quickly once it was out of the pot, encrusting the balls in a pale, waxy substance. As Adam ignited each of them with the candle and sent them rolling toward the base of the vines with the help of a broken chair leg, Tommy rubbed his little black paws together in glee.

"Everybody move away from the vines!!" Adam shouted, and splashed the remainder of the tallowseed oil onto the lower half of the barrier.

There was a moment of nail-biting calm, during which the knotted balls crackled and burned neatly where they had settled. Then, the dripping oil above them caught fire. Within seconds, the base of the detestable barrier was enveloped in orange flame.

The vines batted at themselves in an attempt to put out the fire, and failing that, flailed and twisted about as if in agony. Adam, Tommy, and Danielle ran into the caverns where the smoke could not reach them, and waited there with bated breath.

When the air had cleared, they crept back out to see their handiwork. The barrier smoked gently, its charred remains glowing orange and red as the breeze touched them. The little of it that was spared by the fire twitched feebly like dying worms.

"Damn," Adam whispered to himself. Malady would be beyond furious - she had forbidden the use of fire in her home. Hovering orbs of conjured light illuminated the deep caverns, and the perpetually-scorching ember-stones provided Adam with whatever heat he needed. Quietly, he thanked the stars that he had managed to keep his candle-crafting hobby a secret from her all these years.

He held up the larger part of his broken chair before him like a shield, and approached the barrier cautiously. When the blackened vines made no move to repel him, he swung the chair into them as hard as he could, until they finally crumbled to the ground in a pile of hot ash.

His friends burst into a ruckus of triumphant noise, and scampered or flew alongside him as he ran as fast as he could through the rustling forest, leaping over the roots that rose to trip him and dodging the branches that tried to knock him off his feet.

Aching and bruised from where the bewitched trees were too fast for him, Adam paused to catch his breath near the borders of the woodland, where the air was less dense. He felt like tumbling over in exhaustion, but there was too much at stake to give in to the demands of the feeble human body. He straightened up and prepared to run again, but a large brown beaver burst out of the thicket, chattering excitedly.

"What's the matter, Terrance?" Adam knelt to better read his friend's expressions, frowning in concern.

Terrance only grabbed his hand and tugged urgently on it. At the same time, a hoarse cry for help wafted through the trees. Adam froze. He was a fool for it, he knew, but he simply could not abandon that poor soul to the tender mercies of Malady's forest. "Lead on, Terrance!"

Only a short distance away from where he was stood an old, malnourished tree, overgrown in recent years by a sinuous, many-limbed parasitic plant which choked its poor trunk and branches like a family of vicious pythons. The denizens of the forest knew better than to come within its reach, but caught in its clutches now was a battered and bloodied man, and a terrified horse.

"Cale!! Camellia!" Adam cried, rushing forward as close as he dared. His foot hit something heavy lying in the dead leaves - a sword bearing the seal of Arkanseld's royal household - and he picked it up.

"I'm so sorry, Adam!" Cale moaned in a voice wracked with pain, "I came in here to find you when you didn't show up, but I'm just no good with all these sneaky trees... I think my leg is broken, and I lost my horse, Norris..."

"Shh!" Adam cut him off, "Save your strength! We're gonna get you out of this thing." He took a step closer, and the parasite slithered, sensing fresh blood. It was a little sluggish, now that most of its energy was focused on feeding off the prey it had in hand.

Adam raised the sword in his ill-practiced hands and circled the tree, studying the foul plant-creature anxiously to see where he could cut the fastest and most effectively. He swung the blade, but missed and merely grazed his target.

A long limb untwined itself from the tree, raining pieces of rotting bark on him, and he just only stumbled away from its attempt to grab his ankle. It was slower, but by no means less accurate in its aim.

"Move left!" Cale yelled, and Adam immediately did so. The second limb still managed to slam hard into his elbow, jolting the sword out of his grip.

Neil let out a piercing call and hurtled towards the tree, followed by all of his winged companions. They darted around the parasite, pecking and tearing at it to get its attention, flying too fast for its grasping arms to catch.

The distraction was enough for Adam to regain the sword, run right up to the tree, and hack into the accursed limbs crushing Cale and Camellia against the trunk, splattering sap and bits of stalk in all directions. Sutan wrenched their death-grip off Cale with his antlers, and Camellia struggled free when Adam had damaged her bonds enough.

Neil and his comrades kept up their onslaught long enough for his brother to clear everyone out of the area, then the swarming birds dispersed from the tree just as rapidly as they had attacked.

"Thank you," Cale gasped, clutching his right leg, which lay limp and useless on the ground before him.

"Don't mention it. We don't have much time - Malady found us out. She's at the palace right now, and I don't know what she'll do!"

Whatever blood that was left in Cale's worn face drained, making him look quite ghastly. "T-take Camellia and go; I'll only slow you down."

"If I leave you, you'll die," Adam said sharply, "Camellia's descended from the legendary Storm-chasers, so work with me here." He wrapped his arms firmly about Cale's middle, and eventually managed to lay him over Camellia's saddle. He clambered up behind his injured charge, shifting and fidgeting about before finally finding his balance on the mare's back.

This was do or die at last, Adam thought to himself as he took one last look at the hopeful faces of his friends. If Malady caught him a second time, they would all be finished.

"Stay strong for me," he whispered to them, and set off at a gallop.


	7. All One Can Do

The splendid castle was brightly lit, and Adam could see movement in the windows as he rode uphill to its gates. One thing was certain - Malady had not wrecked any apparent destruction. Perhaps the ball was still going on, and Kris was holding out as long as it took for Adam to arrive? He bit his lip, not daring to hope for anything.

He straightened his back, hearing some faint pops in his strained spine. His lower body was aching and sore from his awkward position and riding inexperience, but that was a trivial bother at the moment. "Cale?" he nudged the prone figure before him gently, "We're here..."

Cale groaned softly and raised his head. "Holler for them, I can't..." his voice was faint, as if he were wafting in and out of consciousness.

Adam trotted Camellia up to the towering portcullis, trying to see past the iron grid. "H-hello?" he called hesitantly, "Is anyone there? Cale's hurt badly, and he needs help!"

Immediately, a trio of guards in gleaming armour appeared on the other side of the gate, peering carefully at him and Cale.

"It's Squire Mills! And Prince Kristopher's horse," the foremost guard informed the others, "Open the gate, and fetch the healers!"

The portcullis was drawn up, and Adam dismounted to allow one of the guards to bring Camellia and Cale to the entrance of the palace, ignoring the others as they stared at his feather-like clothing and dishevelled self.

"Who did you say you were again?" the eldest of the guards asked, studying Adam from underneath bushy eyebrows.

"I'm A-" Adam caught himself in time; clearly, he was out of practice with formalities. "Prince Adam of the Sunstone Kingdom, sir. His Royal Highness, Prince Kristopher, is expecting me this evening. If you would-"

"That he has," muttered a youthful guard to his fellows, "He told us to watch out for this one. Should we...?" he looked to his superior.

The elder guard nodded sharply. "Take him to the dungeon. Keep an eye on him, and don't believe anything he tells you. They're lies."

"No," Adam gasped in alarm as he felt strong arms seize him, "No! Cale??"

"What is this?!" Cale demanded, grasping Camellia's stirrup and struggling painfully to get to his feet from where he was laid on the steps. "You're out of line, Captain!"

"Prince Kristopher gave the order to us personally," the Captain said grimly, "We are to arrest anyone going by this name trying to get into the palace."

"Impossible! He tasked me with bringing Prince Adam here tonight! He even arranged for us to meet in person yesterday. This _is_  he, I tell you, and I swear on my life that I'm not mistaken. If you don't believe me, call Prince Kristopher down here and let him see for himself!"

The Captain narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at Cale's boldness. "His Royal Highness is in the company of his intended and will see no one else until the wedding - especially not you and whoever you brought with you. Wicked things are afoot, and he will hear nothing of them lest they turn him from his purpose. I am sorry, lad, but our Prince is right. The forest has bewitched you out of your right mind, and this man you brought here will only cause him harm. You have your orders, men."

Adam's head swam, and he grew numb with horror and disbelief. _Intended? Wedding...?_

"Cale!!" he screamed, bursting into a wild struggle against the guards, "This can't be! It must be Malady's doing! You have to tell Kris, he-" The young guard's fist slammed into his gut, cutting him short. Camellia reared up with an outraged whinny and charged to Adam's rescue, but skidded to a halt when four guards blocked her path, brandishing their weapons at her.

"S-stand down... stop..." Cale called after them weakly as his vision began to darken. He sank into the arms of two healers, Adam's panicked cries as he was dragged away ringing in his ears.

"Please, no! I cannot be here at sunrise... _I cannot be here at sunrise!!_ "

Cale allowed the healers to carry his battered body onto a litter, his mind racing even as darkness threatened to overcome him. Their plans had suffered a cruel twist, and all he could do was lie here with his broken leg and bleeding wounds...

Or, perhaps, he could add a twist of his own.

"I'm done in!!" Cale howled, nearly causing the healers to drop him in fright, "I'm about to die. I know it in my shattered bones! I must see my dearest friend, my Crown Prince, one last time... before I go..." he deliberately let his voice taper off into a pitiful gurgle.

"But Prince Kristopher is not to be disturbed! He has guards posted at every entrance to his chambers, and nothing short of a dragon attack will move them!"

"You _will_  make it to see him at his wedding, Squire Mills. We have sworn an oath-"

"You are... t-too late..." Cale rasped feebly, "How heartless this world is. If my Prince will not see me even in my final moments... let me at least die... in the company... of my other f-friends..."

The healers looked at each other anxiously as they hurried their moaning patient into the hospital wing.

"Tell His Royal huh- Highness Prince Daniel and Chief Cook Charles... of my impending demise. I b-beg you, do not deny me my last wish..." Cale gave a shudder, and lay very still.

He continued to lie there amidst the bustling healers, unmoving except for his laboured breathing - for which he did not require much acting. He fancied that he had lost more blood than he was comfortable with, and there was a constant stab of pain in his injured leg. At least, now that he could rest lying down, he was no longer in danger of losing consciousness.

Prince Daniel arrived first, followed closely by a flour-covered Charles, who barged in heedless of the curtseying nurses he nearly knocked over. "You better not be blowin' this up, you reckless fool of a dingbat's son..." he scolded Cale, though his flushed face was fraught with genuine worry.

"I'm so terribly sorry, Cale," Daniel shook his head sorrowfully, "I'll have Mother try to get Kris out of this idiocy. If he knows he's about to lose you, he'll come."

"No, no!" hissed Cale, beckoning the two men to lean closer over him. "I'm not actually dying. I just needed to- argh!" He flung up an arm to shield himself, but it was Daniel's quick reflexes that saved him from being clubbed on the head by a red-faced Charles.

"You had us scared half to death, you cruel, manipulative beanpole-"

"Shush, Charles! Can someone just tell me-" Cale winced as a nurse began cleaning the deep gash on his leg, "What happened at the ball?"

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure," Daniel frowned, "Everyone was having a good time, even Kris, when this really creepy man just walks in as if he owns the place. Apparently, my brother's been in love with him for a couple of days, and seems that he is - was - Prince Adam of the Sunstone Kingdom, but he insists on calling himself Azar of Blackstone now. It makes my hair stand on end. I don't know, but something feels mighty wrong about that guy. You should see his eyes - they look like devil-fire."

"Malady..." Cale gasped, "Malady's work..."

"Excuse you, what??" Charles squinted at him, "What's that witch-woman got to do with it?"

"Everything!" Cale whispered, "I don't have time to explain it all, but Malady is here in the castle, right now, to stop Kris from marrying the real Adam and freeing him from her curse. This Azar, whoever he is, is _not_  Sunstone's lost Crown Prince, and _not_  Kris's true love. We can't let Kris marry him!"

Daniel's eyes widened. "I knew it! There's no way my brother would fall for a creep like that. What can we do??"

"Only Kris and the three of us know about the secret passage leading up to his room from the garden, Dan. You need to get up there and set Kris straight. If Azar's with him, you'd better arm yourself. We don't know _what_  he is. They've just thrown Adam in the dungeon, and we have only one option: get Kris to break the spell before sunrise. If we fail, Adam will be trapped in the form of a bird for the rest of his life."

"Kris never tells us anything," grumbled Charles, balling his fists anxiously, "Damn, that's a shit situation to be in! What do _I_  do?!"

Cale and Daniel exchanged a long, knowing glance that made Charles twitch.

"Put someone else in charge of the kitchen for once, Charles," Daniel regarded him calculatingly, "I hope you're feeling nostalgic..."

======

A pair of excellent ranged warriors, Sir Andrew and Sir Ryland, had been assigned to the small garden beneath Prince Kristopher's balcony, should any threat attempt to infiltrate his bedroom through that area. So far, the night was uneventful; and thankfully, too - His Royal Highness seemed to think that a great roc was hell-bent on hunting him down and tearing him to pieces.

"A little more light here wouldn't hurt anyone," Ryland mumbled to his partner, "I can't see a thing with all these clouds hiding the moon."

"Except, that we shouldn't be seen either," came Andrew's voice to his left, "If some of these creatures can see in the dark, what more if there was a little more light?"

"Of course, but say the moon came out, what would you do?"

"Pretend to be a lampshade. It seems to work for you."

"I scoff at you, Sir Andrew. It is an art you could never hope to-"

The hedges by the wall rustled noisily, and both men fell silent, gripping their swords. Shadows could play tricks on the mind, but there was no mistaking the great hulking form that rose out of the darkness, shapeless except for two great arms and a pair of long, crooked horns protruding from what appeared to be its head.

"What the devil is that?!" Andrew gaped.

"SASQUATCH!!" Ryland shouted.

As both men quickly armed their bows, the sasquatch began to sing in a loud, gusty voice which drowned out whatever little noise Prince Daniel made as he darted across the soft grass behind the bewildered pair of knights.

"Uh, Ryland?" Andrew mumbled from behind the feathers of his nocked arrow, "Should we still shoot it?"

Ryland grabbed his friend's bow and forced it down. "Are you crazy?! 'Brawl at the Bootsie Boozer' is my favourite song! I say we knock it out and show it off to the court tomorrow. That dancing monkey everyone's so impressed with drives me insane, anyway."

"Right! I'll topple it, you go for the head!" With a yell, the two knights charged their prey, which made a futile run for it.

Daniel waited with his breath held for the surprised and outraged shouts to start once the knights discovered Charles underneath the crudely-sewn sackcloth and parsley roots. In the midst of the commotion, he slipped into the secret passageway and shut its inconspicuous stone door behind him. He would have time to feel bad about putting Charles at risk of getting an arrow through the eye later.

The path up via a tightly winding stairway was oppressively narrow and pitch-dark, with very little air. Daniel hurried along, keeping a close hold on his crossbow and sword to stop them from clattering against the walls.

The passageway opened into a corner of Kris's room, near where the tapestry of their father battling the dragon was displayed. Daniel slid the little hidden door open quietly, and saw that an end table had been placed right in his path. That was unusual - Kris never obstructed the door, in case he and the others in the know needed to make a quiet entrance or getaway. Was his brother that paranoid to think that his most trusted allies would try to sneak up on him? Well, considering his list of very specific orders for the guards and household (he rarely gave orders at all), he probably was. And who was to say that Daniel was not sneaking?

Daniel squinted past the table and into the dim chamber. A solitary candle provided the only light, but he managed to make out a white-clad form lying in bed, starkly contrasted by the flickering shadows around it.

Nothing else in the room moved as Daniel observed, so he took it as a sign to act. Grimacing from the effort of keeping silent, he gingerly lifted the surprisingly heavy end table and moved it out of his way, crawling on his hands and knees out of the three-foot-high doorway.

Kris lay in his bed with his eyes open and unseeing, still dressed in all his finery from the ball except for his crown, which rested on the pillow next to him. His chest rose and fell slightly, indicating that he was alive, but otherwise unresponsive to the world. Aside from that, nothing seemed amiss. Perhaps, by some stroke of luck, they were alone...

The back of Daniel's neck prickled as he realized there was one less shadow by his brother's bed.

He crept forward, and something hard and heavy fell and smashed over the leather armour between his shoulder blades. He yelped in alarm as pieces of a decorative china vase fell to the floor about him. Had he not moved, it would have hit him square on the head.

There was a furious flutter of large wings, and he covered his face instinctively as long talons raked into his bracers and bare hands. He drew his sword and swung blindly at his attacker, peering over his forearm when he sensed it move away.

He guessed it was a large predatory bird of some kind, from its shape and the way it moved. It looked positively foul when the candlelight caught it, like it was more dead than alive; though there was a lot of life in how it circled the room swiftly and plunged down at him, aiming for his throat. Its cruel yellow eyes blazed hatefully as they pinned him in place with some strange hypnotic power...

"Devil-fire," Daniel murmured, slumping against the wall and feeling his sword slip from his disobedient hand.

A hollow, tuneless _thunk_  sounded out, and the bird screeched indignantly as it was violently hit off-course. Regaining control of his mind and body, Daniel righted himself and stared at his elder brother wielding a brand-new lute, which bent sadly from where it had snapped at the neck.

"What did I tell you about birds in general, Dan?" Kris grunted through his teeth, "You alright?"

"Get down!!" Daniel yelled, raising his crossbow.

Kris dropped to the floor as the winged villain dove, and Daniel fired three bolts into the darkness and its twin orbs of hellfire. At least one of them must have hit their mark - the fiend fell to the ground between them with a dull smack and lay there, a lifeless pile of shabby feathers.

Relieved, Daniel let out the breath he had been holding - only to find that Kris had picked up his fallen sword and was pointing it right at him.

"Now," Kris said in a low voice, his eyes dark and unusually intense, "I saved your behind because you look, sound, and act like my little brother. But just in case you aren't, don't think that offing some ugly old bird in my room is gonna save you."

Daniel swallowed nervously. "Whoa, easy. Are you under a spell? Because this really is the cream of crazy..."

"Where have you taken Azar? He was supposed to stay right here with me, where Malady's minions can't get to him. Unless, of course, _you're_  the one under a spell..." Kris jabbed the blade forward, driving Daniel back a step. "Get out of my brother, you vile... minion."

"Kris, listen to me," Daniel said carefully, raising his hands in a non-threatening gesture, "Malady is in the castle at this very moment, trying to thwart your plans. Cale just arrived here and told us that, and he brought Adam with him. I believe that's the man you really want? Thing is, they've thrown Adam in the dungeon-"

"Good. That was Azar's idea. _He_  got here by himself because Cale was late and he didn't wanna risk waiting. This 'Adam' is obviously a fake - he doesn't go by that name anymore, and Malady doesn't know that yet. You - or whichever part of you is still my brother - were at the ball, you heard it yourself. However, brother or not, I will do you in if you don't tell me what you've done with Azar-"

"Please! Kris, look at the bird I just shot down!" Daniel cried, feeling the tingle of proximity as his own blade tip hovered at his neck, "Azar is not who you think he is. Just look!! If I'm wrong, then do what you want to me!"

Kris eyed him warily for a while, but something in that wall of suspicion finally caved. He took a few steps back to where the corpse lay with one of Daniel's bolts protruding from its breast. "Then you'd better be right..." His face contorted in revulsion as he used the sword to hurriedly flip the dead bird onto its back. He stared at its bulbous, blank, yellow eyes, and the gleaming gold band fitted around its left ankle.

The sword fell to the floor with a resonant _clang_ , and Kris ran to his brother and threw his arms around him. "I'm so sorry, Dan. I'm sorry... I don't know why I did that, I was just so scared she'd come for him..."

"Save it for later, big brother," Daniel told him firmly, grasping his shoulders, "We need to get your future husband out of that dungeon, and fix this mess before things really get bad."

Kris looked at him silently, a steely resolve hardening his gentle brown eyes. He glanced at the late night sky beyond the balcony, and ran to fetch his own sword.

======

Adam could not tell how much time had passed since the guards threw him into that bleak, chilly cell. The whole time, they had remained deaf to his pleas and said nothing in reply to his questions, but finally threatened to put his hands in the brazier if he did not put a hold on his tongue. It was evident that they loved their Crown Prince dearly, and every perceived lie out of Adam's mouth was a slight against that love.

Since he could say nothing to move them, Adam resigned to curling himself up in the corner nearest to the barred window and softly humming every song he knew to himself. It was little comfort, but it kept him from imagining every possibility that had led him into this unfortunate situation.

Malady had her magic and her tricks. But surely that was not enough to blind one whose heart was true - not for long, at any rate. He was sure that Kris's heart was true. He was sure...

At first, it sounded like the three guards watching him had gotten into a fight. Adam broke out of his increasingly fanciful reverie and looked past the bars of his prison. His captors lay on the floor, all of them unconscious. Malady stepped over the guard lying nearest to the cell door - her dull green skirt brushing over him - and unlocked it with his keys.

"I do not understand why you must continue to defy me, Adam." Her voice was strangely gentle, her expression rueful. "How is it ever easy on your own heart?"

She took a step towards Adam, reaching out to touch his hair, but all he could think of was what cruel retribution would be inflicted upon himself and his poor friends, now that he had run from her a second time and again failed to reach the finish. He flinched away from her hand before he could stop himself.

A shadow seemed to pass over Malady's coldly beautiful face. "So this is what you think of me - the same evil witch whose name is thrown about by fool peasants to frighten their little children. I am not without reason. Even a common fool is driven to terrible acts by great anger."

"I could easily leave you here past sunrise, Adam," she whispered as she knelt by him, running her fingers lightly over his bandages, "If that is also what you expect me to do." Tingling warmth spread along the gash in his arm, and within moments, the sting he was beginning to get used to had vanished completely.

She unravelled the leaves to reveal his perfectly healed skin. "But I will not, because I love you so. You have always accused me of being unable to forgive; but see now, I am willing to forgive your lack of judgement."

"You and I both know," Adam finally spoke, staring at the rough stone wall, "That even if we both lived until the end of all things, my heart will never be yours."

Malady arched her delicate eyebrows. "Who does it belong to, then? Prince Kristopher, who cast you away in scorn the moment he laid eyes on a lovely young thing with no troublesome past to speak of? That naïve, fickle boy, in dire need of an answer to his predicament; infatuated by the beauty of his woodland saviour?"

"Don't you lie to me!" Adam spat, anger flashing in his eyes, "This was all your doing! I know it in my soul that Kris and I are meant for each other. I don't know what web you've spun here, but all lies come to light sooner or later. My 'troublesome past' is no fault of mine, or my people's, and you've imprisoned them long enough. If you would just release them from their torment, won't I have a reason to think better of you?? The truth is, nothing makes you happier than what you can control. You don't truly love me, and you never have. _That_  is why I can never love you, and _that_  is what you don't understand!"

"You do not see the point amidst all your righteous arguments, do you?" Malady sighed wearily, "You fight a battle that has already ended - your Prince has given his first vow of love to another, of his own free will."

_Lies. Kris loves me. I know he does. He promised. He wouldn't..._

Adam clenched his fists until his knuckles turned pale, but it did not still his shaking. What he thought he knew in his heart had been disproved at every turn by the brutal hand of reality. His chest hurt - he could not breathe right, like he was being crushed from the inside by his own ribs. Each beat of his heart was a dull stab of pain, as if something in it had broken and filled the core of his being with shards.

Graceful fingers wiped away the tears that spilled uncontrollably down his face. "I am truly sorry, my dear boy," Malady cooed tenderly, "All I have done is sever the limb before it festers. You will thank me someday - a union born of desire and haste cannot last. Through all things, I will always be here for you, Adam. Come home with me."

It was spiteful and stupid beyond measure, but Adam cared no longer. His tongue began to form a bitter 'No'.

It seemed like the word hit Malady like a physical blow before he could even utter it. She staggered and fell back, gasping in pain, her hand trembling as it clutched at her chest. Despite himself, Adam rushed forward to help her up, but she rose and struck him across the face hard enough to knock him to the floor.

"See what you have done, ungrateful cur!!" she shrieked with all the fury of a tempest, "My Azar is dead! Brutes... monsters... they've slaughtered him. I swear by Mother Earth that they will suffer!! They think they are safe from me here, but I will not rest until every man, woman, and child knows the meaning of despair and this wretched kingdom lies in ruins!"

Adam met her gaze, refusing to shrink away as she moved to strike him another time, though his own terror threatened to blind him. "Éonora," he pleaded weakly, "Don't do this... not again. Have mercy-"

"They do not deserve mercy," Malady hissed, "And you are a fine one to ask it."

She turned to leave, but he lurched forward and caught her ankle. "Take me back," he begged her, "My life for Azar's. I swear I will never oppose you, or run from you ever again. I will be completely yours as long as you wish it. All I ask is that you bring no harm to Arkanseld and her people."

Malady stared down at him, her unreadable face streaked with black tears. Perhaps she was contemplating his offer, so Adam waited, comforted only by his treasured memories of the lost love that would soon seal his fate.

"That was the dirtiest trick anyone's ever played on anyone, I'm telling you that!" Kris fumed as he hurried down the steps to the deepest part of the dungeon with Daniel at his heels, "Of all the stuff she could've pulled, does it have to involve setting me up to marry the ugliest darned bird in the world? Adam's gonna punch my teeth out. And maybe you should let him."

"His doppelganger from hell might do that," Daniel called after him, "But you don't look like you go for the violent sort."

"Then what sort do I-" Kris nearly tripped over a guard sprawled right at the bottom of the stairs. He caught himself in time and held out an arm behind him to stop Daniel from crashing into his back. He stared across the floor, over where the two other guards lay, and into the first cell.

Adam spun around at the commotion, and their eyes met. The look on his face - a dismal mixture of hopeless longing and utter defeat - would haunt Kris for a long time. Adam's lips moved, on the brink of saying something, but he could no longer talk. He shrank rapidly, his body reshaping itself as a coat of beautiful feathers spread over his skin.

A woman stood behind him, lovely as a winter's night and just as cold. Just as soon as Kris had seen her, she began her own transformation into a great winged beast that was more shadow than substance. Adam gave a sharp wail of pain as the beast seized him bodily in her clawed feet and took flight.

Kris and Daniel had only seconds to compose themselves as the beast flew out the open cell door and towards the stairs where they were. Kris raised his sword but hesitated to strike - there was no telling if he might hurt Adam by accident in that pulsing mass of darkness. Daniel aimed his crossbow at the creature's head, but it slammed into him before he could fire, sending the weapon clattering down the steps.

"Adam!!" Kris cried frantically, dropping his blade and scrambling after the swiftly departing beast. He reached out, and his fingertips briefly brushed against the ends of Adam's long tail feathers.

Kris ran, leaping carelessly up two or three steps at a time, shoving his way past the alarmed guards and into the open courtyard. He looked all around him, and up into the night sky with its many glimmering stars, but saw nothing of Malady and his beloved.

In the crushing silence that followed, the events of that evening bore down on Kris, and he suddenly understood what the despairing look on Adam's face had meant. They had one sure chance of lifting the curse and living happily ever after, and Kris had simultaneously squandered it _and_  dealt Adam the deepest kind of betrayal; the entire time blissfully ignorant of what he had done. A hoarse cry tore out of his throat as he cursed the cruelty of it all as well as his own foolishness.

"We lost them!" Daniel panted as he came up behind his brother, "I'll head to the barracks and get the men moving. They'll be ready to march on the forest in half an hour!"

"No," Kris mumbled, his eyes squeezed shut.

Daniel's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, 'no'?? Kris, did you _see_  what just happened down there?! I don't think any of us know what we're dealing with here. If you go after her alone, you won't be coming back!"

Kris's eyes flew open. "You send the army in there, and _none_  of them will come back!" he snapped, "Malady let us off once for defending Sunstone way back then. If we mess with her again on her own turf, it's _over_. This is between me and the witch now - no one else."

"I'm not letting you go out there to die!" Daniel yelled, "At least let me go with you!"

Kris stared grimly at his brother. "You leave Mom here all by herself, and I'll skin your butt for a tambourine. Just tell her that I've postponed the wedding until further notice, and if she asks why, just make something up. As far as everyone's concerned, I'm still in my room with the devil-bird." Kris reached up and drew his younger brother's head down, and lightly kissed his high forehead. "I will be back, and I will have Adam with me. You can bet on that."

Daniel shook slightly, staring hard at the ground. Kris tilted the younger man's face up again with a gentle hand. "It'll be alright," he murmured, "Who am I, Dan?"

Daniel swallowed hard, steeling himself as a soldier would before battle. "Kristopher the Awesome," he replied steadily.

"That's right," Kris nodded with a faint smile that echoed with a distantly familiar cockiness, "And don't you forget that."


	8. On the Edge of the Night

Kris wished he really was that confident in himself as he seemed in front of Daniel, as he hurtled through the dark, quiet streets of Arkanseld, carried by his trusty Camellia. He had found her shut in the secure pen reserved for wild and uncontrollable horses, but as with fetching his armour and getting past the castle gate, no one dared oppose him when he chose to exercise his authority as their Crown Prince. He would personally apologize to all of them later, but now, there was simply no time to be delicate about things.

Daniel was right on two counts. Kris had no idea exactly what he was up against, but he did bring out his mirror-shield, that was said to distract the enemy as well as deflect magical attacks. He knew he should have worn a complete set of armour instead of just a fortified leather tunic and arm and leg braces, but the last thing he needed to be now was slow and clumsy. His sword was forged by a renowned Dwarven weaponsmith whose name he could not articulate - gifted to him as a child by his father, the King - it would take care of the rest. They were probably not much help against an angry sorceress, but he could not well stroll into Darkbough Forest in his fancy dancing breeches - which led to the second thing Daniel was right about.

Kris was alone and defenceless against a power that could wreck entire kingdoms. He was riding to his death - or worse - but doing nothing to try and save Adam after messing up so grandly would kill him all the same. Still, he was not dead yet. He had a plan - somewhat. Malady was known to have a certain sense of reason, and he intended to appeal to it however he could.

He knew what he had to do. It was just that the specific details of whatever he intended to do remained lost to him. He did not notice the small, bent figure standing in his path until he was close to running it over. He yelled in surprise and yanked Camellia to the side to avoid hitting it. "What are you doing?!" he shouted at it, "You could've gotten hurt!"

There was the softest jingle of little bells as the figure hurried to his side and removed its veil. It did not take Kris long to recognize her as the old gypsy woman who was telling stories at the market fair a mere three days ago.

"You ride into great peril, my good Prince," she said in a hushed voice, "Please, accept my humble assistance." Her wrinkled hands held out a simple unlit torch to him. "This is my last Terra-Brand. Before you enter Darkbough Forest, touch its tip to the ground. The fire that will light it comes from Earth herself, and it will keep you from harm."

Kris frowned skeptically at the torch as he took it from her. "Uh, thank you. But are you saying that fire's gonna come out of the ground and-"

"No time!" screeched the gypsy. Moving startlingly fast for how old and frail she looked, she landed a resounding smack on Camellia's flank, sending the poor mare and Kris charging past the city gates with a neigh (and yell) of alarm. "May the stars guide and watch over you, my Prince!!" her tremulous voice called after him.

As the crop and flower fields rolled by him, Kris was too bewildered by the encounter to dwell on the insanity of his actions. How had the gypsy woman known what he was doing? There was no way his alleged obviousness was that clear-cut. Did she read cards, or see into a crystal ball? There was only so much he knew about her mysterious people. More importantly, how much help would this old stick wrapped in a bunch of rags be?

When the first of the tall, cheerless trees loomed before him, he brought Camellia to a stop and hung over her side, holding on to her saddle for support as he lowered the torch to the grass. Impatiently he brushed it, pressed into it, and finally ground the cloth-bound end into the soil.

Kris snorted, starting to acutely feel the discomfort of his awkward position. "If this is some kind of joke, I- argh!!" The rag suddenly ignited in a tall, sparking burst of deep orange flame, its intense heat glancing across his face before it receded into a more ordinary burn.

He stared at the evidently supernatural fire in wonder. This had to be a good sign. Drawing in a deep breath of cool air to calm his nerves, he urged his reluctant mare into the darkness.

The moment Kris was far enough in that the moonlight vanished from behind the treetops, a loud, ominous rustle rose up all around them, as if the woods were outraged that he had trespassed so boldly into their midst. The trees moved right then, their trunks bending impossibly as they swung their branches wildly at him. He held on tight as Camellia reared up in fear, and brandished the lit torch at his wooden opponents. The flame blossomed out above him with a life of its own, enveloping him in warmth and casting its light all around. The trees recoiled away from them, as if in terror.

Kris barked a command, and Camellia launched the both of them into the writhing, creaking depths. The torch continued to blaze, its flame leaping out at branches, roots, or thorny vines that came close to grabbing him or swatting him off his mount. With Malady's enchantments renewed, the forest was alien, and more sinister than it had seemed to him before. Certainly, if he survived this, he would never think less of anyone who spoke fearfully about Darkbough again. The trees and undergrowth that used to be his benign guides to Adam were now his enemies, and as he moved deeper into unfamiliar land, the possibility that he would get horribly lost and smashed to a pulp when the torch finally burned out became more and more likely.

They finally came to the top of a grassy knoll, and a much-needed respite from the constant onslaught of the forest. The torch had been hard at work, and was close to halfway gone. Kris stroked Camellia's mane soothingly as the distressed mare stomped in place. "I'm sorry if I was ever mean to you, girl," he told her, "And I'm sorry I dragged you into this. If anything - you know - happens, I just want you to know that you're the best horse a man could ever wish for."

Camellia's neighs travelled about the wide open space in front of them, and Kris gazed ahead to see what strange things lay in the murky darkness. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

It was apparent that they had reached one of the ends of Darkbough Forest, and yet not quite. The trees behind them continued into an irregular arc that faded into the misty distance, partly encircling the open land, almost like the walls of a huge fortress. In the middle of that open land was a city.

It was visibly larger than Arkanseld; Kris could not see the end of it. Little villages peppered the fields around the main cluster of buildings, which surrounded a great structure that was a marvel to behold, even in its dilapidated state. In fact, the entire city was run-down and overgrown. No light or movement came from any of its windows; the silence around them was so heavy it suffocated him. He had been to graveyards that felt more alive.

Kris looked at the quaint stone buildings closest to him - they made up a farm, he guessed, set on a generous piece of land. A fire long ago had charred each of them black as coal, and they now stood like grim sentries in the tall, dense grass. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the once-wondrous Sunstone Kingdom - Adam's lost home. The blood ran cold in his veins, and his hands shook with a barely-contained rage he had never felt before.

Out of the eerie quiet, a wail of many voices rose up from the burnt granary. Anyone else would have run for the hills in mindless fright, but Kris knew that there were no ghosts here. Either way, he was already facing his greatest fear, and it had nothing to do with evil birds.

The motley chorus of voices did not let up, and a great clamour of things being hit about added to the noise. Kris rode up to the granary, and saw that its door and each of its windows were completely obstructed by masses of thick, twitching vines. The torchlight reflected off dozens of frightened, pleading eyes in the darkness within.

"Stand back!!" Kris yelled at them. Gritting his teeth in fury, he swung the torch violently at the vines. The flame leapt out and singed the abominable things, causing them to untwine and shrink away to the sides of the gaping doorway. "Everybody move! Go, go!"

A crowd of animals poured out from the granary door, and Kris held the vines at bay until he was sure they were all safely outside.

He looked at the poor, shaken creatures - no, people - as they embraced and comforted one another. Was Malady such a monster that she had shut all of them in that dark, isolated prison to starve?

"People of Sunstone," he addressed them, "I know this isn't the best time, but I need you to lead me to Adam. I fouled up really bad, and I need to set things right. If you smaller guys need a ride, come on up." He muttered a command to Camellia, and she obediently lowered her body to the ground with her legs folded under her.

The animals exchanged brief, rapid 'words' amongst themselves, and prepared to move out with impressive efficiency. The littler and slower creatures - and even a little tortoise - who could not keep up with Camellia climbed or were helped up onto her and Sutan.

"You better hold on tight and stay in the firelight at all times. It's gonna be rough going." Kris raised the torch high and turned back into the wicked woods; an assortment of chipmunks, mice, squirrels (including Danielle, who directed him once again), and a mole hanging on to Camellia's mane and fittings. Sutan, with his cargo of Tommy, Terrance, the tortoise, and a skunk, galloped next to him. Rabbits and ferrets loped across the ground, and Prince Neil and his feathered compatriots flew low to avoid the torch.

The trees resumed their assault as before, only fiercer than ever. The torch-fire pulsed and spat aggressively to match them, quickly wearing down its fuel. Even so, the more persistent branches and vines escaped its fury to lash and cut at wherever Kris's armour did not cover. The animals were never directly attacked, but they were still at risk of getting caught in the wood's wild, thrashing efforts to get at Kris.

At long last, they broke out into the open again. Camellia ground to a halt before she barrelled into the lake, nearly throwing Kris off in the process. Not a moment too soon, the torch sputtered and died out. He whispered his grateful thanks to the old gypsy woman, and handed the blackened stump to Terrance, who was very keen to have a closer look at it.

"Blasted forest..." He glared at the trees and dismounted painfully, hissing as his cuts and bruises made their presence known now that the adrenaline from their dash through the woods was over. Camellia was not much better off - thin streaks of red stained her mottled coat. "Everyone mostly alright?" he asked the animals gathered around his mare near the water's edge. They nodded or made quiet sounds of assurance, as they nursed their own injuries.

The lamps in the cave mouth were lit, illuminating a floor peppered with an assortment of wrecked items, and its entrance rimmed by the ashy remnants of a vine barrier similar to the ones he had found on the granary. _That's Adam,_  Kris thought to himself, a surge of pride momentarily dispelling his nerves, _Tried to keep him down, did she?_

Encouraged by those thoughts, he prepared to face the real enemy. His mirror-shield felt unusually heavy as he armed it on his left. His sword arm already ached from holding the torch aloft for so long. This was not good - he had just arrived here, but all that time in the murderous forest had done a good job of taking off his edge.

Usually, in the stories, if a door was open, the hero would walk right in and get the job done. But Kris had heard many stories; and in some of the less glorious ones, the said hero neither got the job done nor made it out that door again. He eyed the cave entrance cautiously and straightened up to his full height, readying his weapons and ignoring the pounding in his chest.

Turning back was impossible, and never an option. Something would end here tonight; that much was certain.

"Come out of there, Malady!" he called loudly into the cave, "I have a grievance with you, and we need to talk!"

Neil uttered an incredulous squawk. Kris turned and gave him a defensive shrug. "You got anything better??"

The minutes ticked by, and Kris's resolve began to ebb away with them. He was an idiot. Why  _would_  Malady come out to meet him, like he had invited her to a friendly chat over tea? He was no longer of concern to her - no amount of vowing on his part could save Adam now. He could just wait there at her leisure, until he gave in to exhaustion, and then she would simply off him in his sleep when she emerged for a morning stroll or whatever it was that she did. Or, he could always walk right into the cave to seek her out, and hope that he would end up on the more glorious side of legend...

He felt the animals stir behind him and start to murmur excitedly. A figure was coming out of the depths of the cave; he raised his shield protectively in front of him. But it was no sorceress or great beast. "Adam...?" Kris started, lowering his arms.

Adam's face was clean of tears, but his puffy and dull eyes told that he had probably been crying for hours. He stared right at Kris as if he could see nothing and no one else. The first words out of his mouth stated what Kris already knew: "You're crazy."

"Probably," Kris offered a weak smile, "That's the second time you've had to tell me that, so you must have a point. But it's worth everything now - I thought you'd never want to see me again."

Adam's jaw tensed momentarily. "You're right, I don't. But it's not for the reasons you might think. What I mean to say is, we can't see each other again. Not if you know what's good for you."

Kris blanched, nearly dropping his weapons. "A-Adam. Whatever you heard, or whatever lies she's told you, that's not how it went down. She made some demon-bird look just like you, and-"

"It doesn't matter what went down!" Adam blurted, his maddeningly rigid façade crumbling, "You can't come back here. You know why? Because there's no _point_  anymore. I promised Éo- I promised Malady that I'd marry her. You and I - that was just a fool's dream, and now it's over."

Kris threw his sword and shield to the ground and closed the space between them. Before Adam could shrink away, Kris reached up and grabbed him by the sides of his head. "Stop it! Stop this crazy talk! What did she do to you?!"

Adam stared at him for a moment, stunned. "She didn't do anything to me. It was my choice. I'm tired of fighting, and I... I..." He shut his eyes tight, but fresh tears still escaped them. "I'll see t-that the forest gives you safe passage h-home. You have a good life, you s-should go back to it... and live it."

"Don't preach to me about living my good life!" Kris growled, "That'll only happen if I somehow forgot that I left the man I love to rot here in the clutches of an evil madwoman. You tell me how I could ever do that, Adam! What about what you told me? Didn't you say you'd always have hope?!"

"Please don't make this harder," Adam implored him softly, placing his hands lightly over Kris's. He was trembling. "Just go home..."

Kris let his arms fall to his sides, feeling the strength leave them. The forest could dash him to pieces on his way out for all he cared. It would be a lot less painful than seeing his beloved Adam completely broken.

"If you want me to just walk away," he said leadenly, staring at the ground, "You can at least tell me the truth. Tell me that you really love her. Say from your heart that you hate me - say anything - but don't give me that crap about being tired of fighting. You'd die before you gave up. Why did you do it?"

Adam said nothing.

Searing anger shot through Kris, and he snapped his head up. " _Adam, WHY?!_ "

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you, Prince Kristopher?" came the lightly amused voice of a woman, which sent a chill up Kris's spine. He had not seen Malady come out of the cave - that was, if she even had a use for entrances and exits at her full strength. Frantically, he reached back to retrieve his weapons, but stumbled over his own feet and fell heavily on his rump. Not daring to take his eyes off the sorceress and her mocking smile, he grappled blindly about until his hands closed around the hilt of his sword and the strap of his shield.

"Get behind me, Adam!" he urged, leaping to his feet to face the fight head-on. But Adam merely stared at him, wide-eyed, as if Kris had completely lost his mind. "Come _on_ , Adam! What's wrong with you?!"

Malady stepped forward, her sculpted face blasé, as if she found their exchange extremely tiresome. "Now, Your Highness, surely this is no way to speak to the man who single-handedly saved your miserable little kingdom from destruction," she chided Kris, fully enjoying how she drove him back with every step she took towards him. "All the trouble you caused us lost me my darling Azar, and had Adam not persuaded me otherwise, I would have had every single one of your filthy hides. He softens my heart, you see, and I am compelled to honour his wishes. You can at least do the same, and run on home to your mother."

The pieces finally fell into place, crushing Kris beneath their weight. He staggered, utterly aghast. " _How could you...?_ "

Malady's expression hardened into one of blatant hatred. "Pray I never so much as catch the stench of you again, or I will be hard-pressed to keep my word."

Something cracked deep within Kris at that very moment, along with his last rational thought. Howling like a maniac, he lunged and swung his sword wildly into Malady. There was no way he could have missed her then - still, the blade cut through empty air. Unfazed, he made to strike again, but Malady raised her arm and caught the lethal blade in her slender hand. Kris struggled in vain to free it, while not a single drop of blood spilled from Malady's grip. So very easily, she wrested his sword from his hands and contemptuously slammed its hilt into his face.

Kris's world exploded in white light for a split second, and his entire skull rang with pain that radiated from his upper jaw. He swayed and fell onto the grass like a puppet with cut strings, hearing his sword hit the ground heavily next to him. He heard Adam yelling something; he could make out Camellia's infuriated shriek amongst the cries of Adam's friends. The air around him pulsed violently, and the uproar immediately faded away.

He spat out a cloying mouthful of his own blood, feeling one of his rear teeth wobble alarmingly. The blow had ultimately sobered him, tempering his wild rage into grim focus.

A wall - invisible save for the ripples that broke out from wherever it was touched - surrounded Kris and Malady, blocking out all sound and sensation from beyond it. He saw Adam circling the exterior, searching by touch for some way in. Failing that, he pounded against the wall with his fists, furiously shouting something Kris could hear nothing of. The animals threw themselves futilely against the magical barrier, causing the view of the outside world to dissolve into a mass of distorted dull hues.

Unbidden, a scornful chuckle bubbled out of Kris's throat. "Worth a try," he quipped humourlessly, slurring a little from the effects of the blow. He spat again to clear the blood that kept pooling in his mouth. "You know, Malady... you really don't have to try so hard. Where bullies are concerned, you're already top of the heap."

Malady gave him a bitter smile. "It would put a considerable strain between me and Adam if I decided to permanently silence that smart mouth, but you are testing me, boy. You may still walk away with your life; unless you fancy wasting it on a lost cause, or to spite me through Adam's misery at your death."

"If you knew what truly loving another person felt like," Kris replied steadily, "You'd know that whether I go home alone, or stay here having this lovely heart-to-heart with you, I'm a dead man. I'm not leaving here without Adam, and you'd better get used to that idea. In fact, let's not drag this out. If you had any real worth in you, you'd take up a blade and fight me as an equal."

His own audacity surprised him, but for the first time that night, his aim was clear. He picked up his sword and raised its point to the sorceress. "Malady of Darkbough Forest," he declared, "I challenge you to a duel of honour. No tricks, no magic - just flesh and bone, and fair play. Do you accept?"

Peals of laughter filled his ears, dancing around him like the taunting wind that stirs the sail of a stranded raft, but never strongly enough to carry it to shore.

"And why should I afford you that, insolent brat??" Malady scoffed, uncharacteristically tickled, "I have no patience to indulge in the pointless games of boys who think far too grandly of themselves than they are worth."

Kris would have scowled at her, if not for the immense ache in his bruising face. "I understand if the concept of a duel of honour is lost on you," he said, careful not to inject too much sass into his words, "But the thing is, after what you pulled tonight, whatever delusional respect Adam had for you is now gone. If you want it back, you'll need to prove that you're willing to lay it all on the line for him. Anyone with magical powers can throw their weight around us ordinary folk. Take all that away, and are you still so great?"

"You _dare_?" sneered the sorceress, her eyes flashing, "Even as equals in strength and power, you cannot hope to match me."

Nothing irked Kris as much as self-satisfied arrogance. "If that's so," he returned, "What are you scared of?"

Malady narrowed her eyes to the challenge. "Well then, if it pleases you, we shall duel. I will relish the opportunity to bleed the impudence out of you. You will not be able to kill me, flesh or not, so I expect you have your-" she smirked, " _Terms_ , should you be victorious?"

"Thank you," Kris said flatly and without sarcasm, "My terms are that if I win, you release Adam - and everyone else under your curse - and leave both our kingdoms alone, because we definitely won't be coming anywhere near you. If I lose... I suppose I'll be too dead to care what your terms are."

"You are either deaf, or a fool. I already said I will not kill you. My terms for you if you lose..." Malady gave him a cruel grin, "Ah. You will find out what they are soon enough." Kris opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off with a sharp laugh. "Don't you fret about your undeserving people - now that Arkanseld's Crown Prince has offered himself up to me so willingly, I will settle for doing as I wish with him alone. After all, this unfortunate chapter in our lives began with you."

Kris should have been happy to hear that his inadvertently playing the sacrificial lamb had at least saved Arkanseld, but he was hardly feeling grateful at the moment. There were countless fates worse than death, and he was sure that the black-hearted witch had an especially diabolical one planned for him. The crafty woman might even be able to get it past Adam. She just might.

 _Did you think it would be that easy, playing with fire and making deals with the Devil?_  scolded his newly-returned good sense, _Maybe you should have been less rude to her. Now you're in for it, unless you give up this madness and just walk away..._

"W-wait..." Kris mumbled amidst the noise in his head. Receiving no acknowledgement from his addressee, he drew in a breath and forced the words out of his tightening throat, "Wait! That's not good enough. I need a guarantee that you'll keep your end of the deal when the fight's over."

Malady looked up at him from where she knelt on the ground with her hands brushing over the grass. She seemed to find his request very amusing. "If Your Highness insists," she obliged with mock generosity, "I swear by Mother Earth herself that I will uphold my end of the bargain - that is, to lift my curse off Adam and all his people, and leave both your kingdoms in peace forevermore - if you are determined the winner of this duel."

Returning to completely ignoring Kris like he was of no worry to her, Malady buried her hands in the soil at her feet. After a moment, she drew a long, curved knife and a buckler out of the ground, as if she had commanded the earth itself to yield her weapons from its wealthy depths.

Kris watched numbly as she shook the grass and dirt off her gleaming blade... He needed to see Adam. He found him pressed to the part of the barrier where they could be closest to each other, mutely screaming what looked like _'What are you doing?!'_

 _It'll be alright,_  Kris mouthed, and Adam shook his head in anguish, shoving uselessly against the enchantment that kept them apart.

"I love you," Kris whispered.

The sides of Adam's mouth quirked up shakily, and his lovely face softened as if Kris's words had melted away all his fear. His lips moved in reply: _I love you, too._

Kris smiled as he turned back to face Malady with newfound strength, calmly addressing his bothersome thoughts: _Who says I won't win?_

Given the luxury to prepare, Kris quickly studied the area afforded to him by the magical wall. It formed a perfect circle on the ground, taking up most of the clearing. The grassy floor was mostly even, and there was enough space to allow them both freedom of movement for combat and respite. He flexed his sweat-slicked grip on his weapons; this was going to get as rough as it needed to. While his name would never be synonymous with 'warrior' or 'swordsman', he had been trained to a respectable standard of battle competency all the same. Now, if only he had matched that standard with a better attitude and more practice...

"If my Challenger is ready...?" Malady's voice broke into his thoughts, drawing his attention back to her. Her tone was not particularly derisive at that moment, but she might as well have made the expected snide remark about little boys who talk big but cannot deliver on their words.

Making the first move in a duel was always the most difficult step for Kris in training, but he made it anyway. The more he looked at the hateful witch standing there so surely and appearing about as unaffected as a grazing heifer, the more his blood boiled away at his precarious composure.

His first strike was an embarrassment. Malady's stance was firm, but her feet were incredibly light - he had barely recovered from his miss when the pommel of her sword hit him soundly on the top of his head. He stumbled forward, and the side of her blade smacked him squarely across his backside.

He caught the indignant 'ow!' before it escaped his lips and made everything even worse. His face burned as he fought to compose himself, refusing to look his opponent in the eye and see her gloating at his expense.

Free of the restraints and codes that governed a knight on the battlefield, Malady was a chaotic force of nature hell-bent on humiliating Kris. She danced nimbly around him, poking little holes in his clothing with her blade tip, tripping him, feigning various attacks to startle him. He was starting to feel clumsy and inadequate, while it seemed that she could take him down at any time she chose. If he steered clear of her, she refused to advance on him, and the duel would come to a maddening standstill. He was sweating in the cool night; getting more disoriented and furious as her game dragged on. His focus was wearing thin - giving way to unfavourable speculations of what Adam must be thinking, watching his oppressor toy with his supposed saviour, showing Kris up to be the stupid little boy she said he was.

Before their blades had even met, Malady was winning, and there was no way Kris could allow that. If he lost, things would not simply go back to the way they were. Malady would rid herself of him, as well as Adam's loyal friends, in whatever unimaginably twisted way she saw fitting for the trouble they had caused her. Then, Adam would truly be alone in his struggle. Kris was wrong in what he had assumed earlier - she had not broken Adam yet. But she would succeed, sooner or later. In the face of such crushing adversity, even Angels were known to fall.

Malady's game was at an end, as far as he was concerned. He had stumbled deep enough into her devious trap, and if it helped him at all, he was not going to think anymore.

Malady's face froze in astonishment as Kris charged her, knocking her back a few steps as finally, the jarring whine of steel grinding against steel pierced the unnatural quiet. He rained down one blow after another, forcing her to keep blocking him and leaving little room for her to hit back. Faced with a direct armed assault and given no chance to employ her little mind tricks, Malady was no warrior - only a mean, underhanded coward who hid behind magic and threats, and Kris gave her no quarter for that.

It was only when he thrust his sword recklessly forward and it slipped past the edge of Malady's shield, and he pulled it back with its tip coated in an inky black substance, that the red haze was lifted from his mind. He froze and stared in dull shock at his opponent, who mirrored the same sentiment.

Malady edged away from him, bleeding profusely from a deep gash in her right shoulder. The stain spread rapidly down her arm, dyeing her sleeve black. She looked startlingly human to Kris then - tangible, hurt, frightened... defeatable.

"Brute..." she accused him bitterly, her voice quavering, "You condemn me without a second thought, but all of you are the true monsters. Give a man - any man - some power, and see if he remains forever incorrupt."

"We're not all like you, witch," Kris retorted, but he lacked conviction. In fact, he felt incredibly guilty, and he was not certain why. Surely Malady deserved what she got. Was it unfair that she should have a taste of her own medicine? And even if it was not, was Kris right in dealing it to her this way?

He only caught sight of Malady sprinting towards him when it was too late. Dipping low at the very last second, she swung her buckler at his raised shield in a vicious uppercut, driving the heavy device back at an angle and causing its rim to smash into his forehead.

For a moment, Kris felt impossibly light, as if he were floating. Then came warmth, trickling down his face in thin rivulets, followed by pain that almost blinded him. He crashed heavily on his back, splayed awkwardly like a ragdoll, still gripping his sword and shield in his useless arms.

 _Get up!_  urged a feeble voice in his mind, _Get up..._

But he could not. Shadows flooded his vision when he tried to raise his throbbing head, and his weapons seemed to have increased tenfold in weight, pinning him to the dewy grass. He barely felt the cold touch of Malady's blade tip to his chin.

He had lost.

"Ironic," Malady remarked drily, "That our plucky, honour-bound Prince must fight like a dog to finally duel like a man."

"You... cheated..." Kris murmured, dragging his hand out from under his sword hilt to lightly touch the side of his head wound. "There's no triumph... in ill-begotten victory..."

"Did I cheat, now?" she chuckled, "Blame me, if you will, for what you lack yourself."

She grasped the back of his neck and hauled him roughly to his knees, but his attention was no longer on her, sinisterly captivating as she was when pure power coursed through her veins instead of blood the colour of her dark heart. He did not know what was going to happen next, but while he still had the present, he was not going to waste it on her.

Adam met his gaze from beyond the barrier. His lips were moving; whether in a plea, a confession, or a goodbye, Kris would probably never know. Guided by the silvery light of the moon, he took in every detail of the man he loved and engraved them in his heart, mind, and soul. He refused to dwell on regret, but it still saddened him that it had to be tears, and not that exquisite smile, on what could be his last memory of Adam's face.

The sorceress's hand came to rest over his heart, pressing against the leather armour. "Let it not be said that I do not keep my word," she pronounced, as their surroundings glowed and thrummed with near-palpable energy, "You will walk away from these woods alive, Prince Kristopher, but you will never again have love in your heart, nor recall the times when you did. You will not perceive it, neither will you crave it. People, places, and things will mean nothing to you. Your homeland at its fairest will seem as a barren wasteland. Family and friends will be but a nuisance. A lover's touch will leave you cold. The beauty of music will move you no longer."

Her hand passed through clothing, flesh, and bone, and grasped Kris's beating heart in its vice-like fingers. "This is my curse upon you, until every last hurt you will come to inflict upon others in your lifetime is forgiven, or the relief of death takes you."

Light surrounded Kris, bright as day and of the purest white. He shut his eyes and grappled desperately at images and memories as they flitted through his head, before they would be torn from him forever: his dear mother, who was everything he could ask for in a parent; loyal and true-hearted Cale; Daniel the budding hero, sometimes envied but loved far more; Charles, always forthright but with the best intentions; his father, the King, whom he wished he had gotten to know better. Even Princess Katherine, who might cry for him, despite only knowing him for an hour. And Adam...

He had expected it to hurt, but instead, he just felt warm. He dared to open his eyes, and found to his amazement that the brilliant light was emanating from him - or, more precisely, his heart, which beat strong and sure within Malady's crushing grip. The sorceress appeared equally surprised; even more so when the light spread rapidly up her arm, filling her and shining forth with all the radiance of a star as it engulfed her entirely.

The steely hand on Kris's neck loosed its grip, and he raised his arms to shield himself as everything faded into blinding white. There was a roar in his ears, and a great blast that nearly knocked him over but did not burn.

When the noise and glare finally subsided, he was alone.

No... not quite. He fell, succumbing at last to his ordeal - but there was someone, with arms both soft and strong, there to catch him. If that was the last thing Kris ever knew, he supposed he had no complaint about it.


	9. From the Ashes

_Darkness was all around, tinged by a soft amber glow. There was no above or below; no direction that could be told by a compass. There was only 'here', and 'there', as human perception would have it - but in the void, it was all the same in the end. Like air he spread, drifting through endless empty space, yet he remained still._

_Prince Kristopher was dead._

_It was not clear to him why he was, or should be, dead. But he knew one thing for certain - Malady and all her enchantments were no more. The ones he left behind were safe. Ultimately, they were free._

_Prince Kristopher died... but he died a hero._

_Now, if there was only some way out of this dismal excuse for an afterlife, he could convey some proper goodbyes to the ones who would miss him the most. Perhaps, by appearing in their looking-glass, or on the calm surface of their bathwater..._

_A stab of pain shot across his forehead, and the void swallowed itself up to make way for the sun and sky._

"Careful!" cried a voice above him, "He probably felt that!"

"Ugh, sorry!" came another, "It's not like I'm used to having actual _hands_!"

Kris's vision adjusted slowly to the pale gold light of early morning. The air was crisp, and the sunlight cast mild warmth on his face. His armour had been removed and his head was resting in someone's lap; that much he could tell. He reached up sluggishly to touch his smarting wound. His fingers brushed over what felt like a soft leaf on his forehead, but another hand closed gently around his and drew it back down. He looked up into a pair of grey-blue eyes, mesmerizing as swirling mist over a lake, and grinned. "I had this idea... that they were more like sky blue."

Relief washed over Adam's face, wiping off the worried frown that creased it. "I hope you aren't disappointed?" he asked gamely, the graceful bow of his lips curving up in a smile.

Kris opened his mouth to reply, but his other caretaker, an exceptionally lovely young woman with long curls of chestnut hair, leapt to her feet. "People!! He's awake!" she hollered joyfully.

The clearing came alive with movement, and within seconds Kris was surrounded by a colourful crowd of young men and women, and even a few children; each of them clad in the furs or feathers that had been their only clothing for the past nine years of their lives.

"Yay! You're not dead!"

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty."

"Thank the stars! Imagine the drama we'd have to deal with if anything permanent happened to that boy..."

"Shut your mouth, Prince Neil! You should've stayed a bird!"

"Our hero!!"

"Has he said anything yet?? If I got hit on the head like that-"

"Not so close! He needs to breathe!"

"If that leaves a scar, I'm bringing that harlot back to life and killing her again."

"Hey, did you just grab my-"

" _SETTLE DOWN!_ " Adam yelled, loud and high enough to throw an instant hush over his noisy companions. "Save it for when he feels better, alright?" His face softened, looking just a little apologetic. "Now," he added gently, "Can I just have some one-on-one time with my man?"

Ignoring the various expressions of mock awe from his friends as they moved back to make some space, Adam relaxed his protective hold on Kris, who had shrunk a little for being quite overwhelmed by the rambunctious lot in his rather delicate state. "Don't let them scare you, darling," Adam soothed, "They get a little crazy when they're excited - and that's on a regular day."

"Me?" Kris chuckled wryly, "I'm not scared. But they were making my head hurt. What exactly happened with... you know? Did her spell backfire, or something?"

Adam looked contemplative. "I was thinking hard about that, as Danielle and I were dressing your wounds. And all of a sudden, it just came to me. Do you remember the song? Our lullaby... _When stormclouds loom above, and sword and arrow fail; those who wield purest love o'er darkness shall prevail._ "

" _The wall shall split in two; the invincible fall,_ " Kris continued the familiar words without missing a beat, " _As a heart bold and true... by its light conquers all._ "

Adam nodded, his eyes bright. "The meaning of the song _was_  literal, after all. Though, I'm not saying my first interpretation of it was wrong. All that stuff about love eradicating war and hardship? I still stand by that, yes. In fact, the world should live like that, if I had my way. It's _one_  way of deciphering the song, but it turned out the song didn't need to be deciphered at all. Oh, I should've worked it out! Back in the day when the song was written, people didn't even _know_  how to use metaphors. It's just funny how we modern folk kept trying to figure out a deeper meaning to it, because what the words were telling us so plainly just seemed impossible..." He beamed and shook his head in wonderment. "That was, until _you_  came along."

Kris squinted at Adam, trying to digest the rather lengthy revelation. "So..." he said very slowly, "The light... coming out of my um, 'bold and true' heart... destroyed Malady?"

"Blew the bitch to pieces," smirked a slender man with an elfin face and a shock of unusually fair hair.

"Oh, _Tommy_!" scolded a long-limbed stunner who could only be Sutan, " _Must_  you make a gorefest out of everything?? I think it was more of pretty-boy's light phasing out darkness, because if the vexatiously flawless hag was ever made of anything real, darkness would be it. What do you think, Terrance?"

"Say it, girl," Terrance agreed, folding his lean, muscular arms over his chest, "Seeing someone practically become legend right before your eyes - that doesn't happen every day."

Kris gazed doubtfully at the three men. "Legend? Me? Sorry, but I don't think I'm the sort. I - well, I'm just... me."

"Well, I think 'just you' was good enough," Adam vouched, "We all saw something extraordinary in Kris from the start, didn't we, friends?"

Differing levels of agreement rose up in a murmur around them.

"An extraordinary derrière - that's the first thing _you_  saw, Adam," snorted a young man with short, curly hair and a charming if rather cynical face.

Adam rolled his eyes at Neil. "See, Kris? What more did you need?"

"My friend, Charles, kept telling me this thing," Kris recalled, "That there was more to me than I thought. That someone could have all this potential for greatness, but you couldn't tell unless it's unlocked or triggered... I told him to quit being a nag and let me get on with my life."

"And what would you tell him now?" Adam asked.

"I would tell him..." Kris reached up to touch Adam's gleaming black hair and trace the faint spray of freckles on his face. "Let's just say that there was no way I could've done anything great, the way I was going. Then, I met this big, funny bird in the forest..."

Adam smacked him lightly on the arm. "Are you seriously messing around right now?"

"Don't _do_  that, Adam!" Danielle hissed, "Do you want to break him??"

"Gonna take a lot more than that, Miss Danielle," Kris grinned at her, pulling himself up into a sitting position, "What I really meant to say was, that if there's someone you know would give it all up for you, you can't help but do the same for them. But it's not about returning favours. If there was the tiniest chance the one you love with all your heart could be happy, wouldn't you fight for it with everything you had?"

He took Adam's hands and pulled them into his lap. "So, I would tell my friend Charles that he was right about me. All it took was meeting Adam to make something out of this deadbeat, aimless, lame-"

The rest of Kris's little ramble was effectively swallowed up as Adam crushed his lips against his. Pleasantly startled, Kris fumbled about until his arms found purchase around Adam's broad shoulders. His head tipped back, and Adam's tongue slipped boldly into his open mouth, wet and hungry and demanding, surprising him with strange and intriguing new sensations. His swollen gums started bleeding again where his tooth had been knocked loose, but Adam did not seem to mind. Trying his hand, Kris stuck his own tongue out a little, tasting Adam's bottom lip before trailing up the underside of Adam's tongue. The softest moan escaped Adam's throat, and he pulled Kris onto his lap to better ravish his mouth.

Kris was flushed and lightheaded by the time they were done, and his mind was unapologetically swimming in the most inappropriate thoughts. Adam looked like a giggling, utter mess, but Kris was pretty sure he looked worse himself. His shirt was disgracefully rumpled and he could feel his hair slowly settling back into its natural state from the chaos Adam had wrecked on it. His body was tingling all over from Adam's roving touch. Even his lips felt bruised. Before, he might have given a punch square in the nose to anyone who handled him like that, but he quite liked Adam's brand of 'mistreatment'. In fact, he liked it so much that his breeches felt uncomfortably tight around the groin. "Adam..." he complained under his breath, his cheeks burning as he tugged at the front of his shirt.

 _You too?_  Adam mouthed, looking a little sheepish. "We really should get you back home, since you obviously ran off by yourself again. Can you walk?"

"I... think so?" Kris made a face and climbed stiffly off Adam. Suddenly noticing the abnormal hush around them, he looked up to see the shocked, amazed, and even confused faces of Sunstone's essentially innocent youth. The smallest boy had his hands plastered firmly over his eyes. "Um..."

"Why doesn't anyone ever kiss me like that?!" Sutan lamented, shattering the silence.

"Because your smacker was too damned big for the rest of us," Tommy piped up, "But it looks just about right, now." He reached up to pull Sutan's head down, and kissed him full on the mouth.

Now that their initial reactions were out of the way, the rest of the group erupted in wild cheers, shrieks, cat-calls, and laughter. "Oh, _please_ , you people!!" Neil groaned loudly in the midst of it all, "Get a chamber!"

"Everybody!" Adam called, gesturing for quiet, "Calm down, we can all party as long as we want later. Right now, we need to get in order. Kris needs to go back to Arkanseld before the entire kingdom panics, or something. I'm going with him, of course. That means, Neil, you'll be leading our friends back to Sunstone, and you'll also be in charge of telling Mom and Dad everything that happened from the time we went missing, and why I'll be coming home a little late."

"Yes, yes, big brother," Neil grumbled good-naturedly, "You mean I won't get to see you publicly embarrass yourself in front of your future in-laws for the first time?"

"I do not get embarrassed," Adam retorted. "Step to it, people! Let's not keep our folks waiting. Anyone following Kris and I to Arkanseld, gather on my right. Sunstone group on the left! No, leave your acorn stash. You won't be needing it anymore."

Wearing his weapons and with his armour wrapped up neatly in a blanket, Kris watched the busy proceedings with a smile on his face. He was content with being modest most of the time, but now he felt the time was right for a little justified self-praise and ego-stroking. Would bards be singing songs about Kristopher the Awesome's rash and daring rescue of Prince Adam and the Sunstone Kingdom for generations to come? Even if no one did, he could write and sing his own account well enough.

Adam finished his headcount of both groups, and turned to Sutan, Tommy, Terrance, and Danielle, who stood on the 'Arkanseld side'. "Hey, don't you four wanna head back home with the others?"

"We figured that since you won't have Neil, you'd need some of your people around when you head into unknown territory," said Tommy, "We promise not to scare anyone."

"Besides," Danielle added, "We're the only ones who've had to put up with you ordering us around for a full twelve years. What's a couple more days?"

Adam's right eyebrow arched, ever so slowly. Then, he broke into a huge grin. "I love you all."

"Are we done? Can we move?" Neil called impatiently from the other group.

"Wait!" Kris held up a hand, frowning in thought, "I think we're missing someone. I know Adam counted everybody, but I don't think it's... _everybody_."

Before any questions could be asked, an excited spotted mare galloped into the clearing, neighing happily. "Camellia!!" Kris cried, racing to his faithful horse and throwing his arms about her neck, "I am the worst owner ever. How could I forget about you?!"

"I think you just answered that," came a familiar, smiling voice from behind him.

Kris spun around and saw Daniel, decked out in a gleaming golden cuirass that fitted him well despite his young age, leading his mount into the clearing. Following him closely and discernible in the shade of the trees was a host of fully-armed knights and soldiers on horseback.

"You!" Kris pointed an imperious finger at his brother, "I thought I told you to stay!"

Daniel shrugged dismissively. "Yes, you did. And you actually had a point, especially since the trees nearly killed Sir Sean and his men the second they entered the woods. So we waited, and we saw some weird things, but when trusty ol' Camellia trotted out of the trees and started pulling at my reins, that was our cue to move in. Now, since we're all already here, would any of you fine folk care for a lift to wherever you're headed? I took the liberty of bringing a few empty carriages to the forest's edge, just in case my brother here was successful."

"And did you also bring a casket, just in case I wasn't?" Kris folded his arms, glaring and apparently unmoved.

"No," Daniel replied solemnly, "That was never in the equation."

Kris's stern demeanour crumbled immediately, and he pulled his brother into as tight an embrace as the younger man's armour would let him.

"You know, Dan," he remarked as he pulled back, "This look suits you really well."

"Yeah?" Daniel's eyes lit up eagerly, "Wanna see how I look with the helmet on?"

"Excuse me, esteemed neighbours," Neil interrupted them, raising a hand and striding forward determinedly, "I would care very much for a lift, thank you. Those of you heading home with me, come along! If anyone else wants to walk the whole way, be my guest. Can we get an escort to the border? Thank you..."

"My ever-gracious brother," Adam sighed, when Neil had procured himself a seat next to the driver on the arms wagon. "You have our heartfelt thanks, most noble and kind Prince Daniel."

"Now there's a chap with some real manners," Daniel grinned, "I wish I could say that my brother's told me so much about you, but he hasn't, the secretive old sod. But Cale did mention you make the most excellent vegetable stew."

"If you'll pardon my forthrightness," Adam smiled hopefully, "I plan to make you and your family so much stew that you'll beg me to stop."

"If you'll pardon my fussiness, may I suggest you throw in a few pies as well?" Daniel winked.

"Well, look who else my awesome ol' girl found," Kris came back to them, leading Camellia and a slightly battered but otherwise unhurt gelding. "Cale's other half, Norris. They're survivors, these horses. When we get home, there'll be apples and melons all around." He stopped short when he saw that Adam and Daniel had been talking in his absence. "Alright, you both better have said nothing but nice things about me."

"I don't know, brother," Daniel quirked his lips comically, "He'll find out everything soon enough, including how you like to sneak plates of bacon to bed and eat them over the course of up to twenty hours, if the chambermaid doesn't find them first."

"That's alright," Adam said cheerfully, "I used to like napping in this hollow tree by a pond, and it was just teeming. It was fantastic. I'd wake up, stick my beak practically anywhere, and pull out a grub for lunch. Though, if there's going to be all that greasy food on the bed, I should really consider wearing some clothes to sleep."

Kris and Daniel stared wordlessly at Adam, looking frightfully similar for a moment if only in their facial expressions, though Kris's face was getting distinctly pinker all the while.

"I think everyone's ready to go," Adam continued quite obliviously, lightly clapping his hands, "Shall we?"

"Yes!" Daniel replied, a little too promptly, "I will tell the men to... well, go."

"He's so nice," Adam gushed to Kris as Daniel went ahead to see to the troops. "Hey, are you alright? You look a little flushed."

"Just so you know, Adam," Kris gave a slow smile as his boldness made a triumphant return, "I only bring food into bed some nights."

Adam said nothing, but just eyed him coyly.

======

The journey through the forest was unexpectedly quiet, save for some brief chatter now and then, and a little singing. Kris rode ahead on Camellia with Adam seated behind him, as Daniel followed, leading the troops and listening curiously to the tender conversation between the two lovers.

The woods were almost unrecognizable now. It was as if its blanket of perpetual gloom had been lifted; its shifting shadows banished to the dark places from whence they came. The treetops did not suffocate the sunlight, instead allowing it to dance across the leaf-strewn floor in merry sprays of gold. Rich shades of green and occasional bursts of vivid colour greeted the party as they passed by. The trees no longer loomed imposingly over everything under them, but only stood tall in their quiet majesty, except when their leaves rustled in the breeze and whispered softly to each other. Joining in that gentle exchange was the carefree chirping and singing of wild birds - a sound not heard there for lifetimes since the darkness drove them away.

Perhaps there was some irrational fear on the part of the formerly lost children that they would reach home to find it as desolate as it had been for the past nine years; the sorceress's curse lingering still even after her death. For those who had brighter expectations, they were wondering what their families would say, seeing them grown so much, and what to say to them in turn. But for the most part, they were in awe of seeing for themselves the forest returning to its former beauty, which up to that moment had only been spoken about by their elders, but never witnessed.

All too soon, it was time for the two groups to part ways. It would only be a matter of days before they all met again, but the farewells were poignant all the same for that group of friends who were so rarely apart and had been through so much together.

Prince Neil and his companions led the way towards the Sunstone Kingdom, accompanied by a formidable guard captained by the brave knights Andrew and Ryland. Kris and Daniel continued on their way home, bringing Adam, Danielle, Sutan, Tommy, and Terrance, as well as the rest of Arkanseld's finest. The carriages were waiting at the edge of the forest as promised, to ensure that their guests arrived at the host kingdom in comfort and proper fashion.

As they left the sprawling wild fields behind and entered the outermost farmlands of Arkanseld, many of the company began to notice something amiss. The windmill sails were spinning leisurely and herds of livestock were grazing peacefully on the green, but not one person was in sight.

As they came closer to the city, the absence of the kingdom's friendly folk from the roads and their homes became even more glaring. Kris and Daniel looked at each other, echoing a similar worry. After all, Daniel had uprooted more than half of the men tasked with protecting their home to try and save his love-crazed brother from certain doom, and he had managed to do it all without telling their mother.

"There are guards by the city gates," Adam pointed ahead, momentarily bringing Kris back down from his rising panic.

"Hello there!" Daniel called as he rode forward to ask what the matter was.

"This is all my fault," Kris gulped, "For all we know, Malady cursed the ground as she died, and everyone who ate fruits from it got shrunk to the size of an ant, and we trampled them all when they rushed up to us to say 'hi'..."

Adam shook him lightly. "Shh, stop it. She's gone. I don't think it's anything bad, and I can pretty much tell by now when things are bad. Trust me."

"Mom's gonna kill us," Kris said numbly, "And after that, she'll kill me again..."

Daniel glanced back at them from speaking to the guard, looking for the most part quite astonished. He turned and galloped up to Kris excitedly. "It's Father," he said breathlessly, "He's back! Everyone's at the castle, giving him a huge welcome."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Adam bounced a little on Camellia's back, "Perfect timing. Let's go! What are we waiting for?? Kris...?"

"I don't know what to say to him," Kris mumbled dazedly, "It's been nine years. When he left, I was just a kid. And now, I'm a man. I really don't know what I'm gonna say to him."

"He's your Dad," Adam assured him softly, resting his chin on Kris's shoulder, "Don't think too much about what to say. Just let the words flow when you see him."

"Adam, we don't 'flow' around Father," Kris frowned, absent-mindedly urging Camellia into a canter. "He's not just the king; he's a hero as well. He's a really, _really_  big deal in the known world. Plus, when he wasn't off on quests, he'd be busy running the kingdom. Only Mom got to really talk to him. We got pats on the head. Not that we had an awful lot to say to him at that age, either."

"Hmm..." Adam pursed his lips in thought, "You can start by welcoming him home, and telling him that you've missed him. If his quest was a success, congratulate him on accomplishing the near-impossible. If it wasn't, tell him you're just glad he's home and safe. And, if he asks you what you've been doing all this time, you can tell him that you've ended Malady's reign of darkness and saved the Sunstone Kingdom, _and_  you're going to marry your one true love. With his gracious permission, of course."

"Marry..." Kris's face broke into a wide, almost inane grin, "Oh yes."

"That was the last part. You did hear the rest, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Kris laughed easily, feeling Adam poking him in the back with a finger, "And I will tell him all that. Thank you."

As they were told, almost all of Arkanseld that did not have urgent matters to attend to at home or at work - and even some who did - were gathered in the streets leading up to the castle as if a spontaneous holiday had been announced. When they saw their two princes approaching, leading their brave fellow countrymen all resplendent in their armour, they waved and cheered - even if none of them knew about the remarkable deeds that had transpired a mere few hours ago.

Adam's four friends, ever up for a bit of fun, leaned out of their carriage and gleefully waved back and blew kisses at the crowd. That stirred the townsfolk suitably, and as soon as they thought their princes were out of earshot, they began speculating amongst themselves about who the curious strangers dressed in animal skins were. Most of all, they wondered about the beautiful raven-haired young man, clad in blues and greens that appeared to change colour in the light, who rode into the castle with his arms around their Prince Kristopher.

A minor commotion greeted them as they entered the courtyard. The Guard Captain and two of his men were trying to calm an excited old lady who had somehow slipped past the castle gates. In their surprise at Kris and Daniel's sudden reappearance, they released the aged woman, and she hobbled quickly right up to Kris and Adam. He recognized her instantly this time as the gypsy who had given him the invaluable Terra-Brand.

"Stars be praised," she exulted, clasping Camellia's face in her little hands as if she were addressing the confused mare instead. The younger guards rushed forward to pull her away, but Kris held up a hand to stop them.

"They would not listen to the words of a rambling old crone," she continued blissfully, "But here, here is my proof! Oh, you truly have the heart of a great hero, Prince Kristopher. Darkbough Forest no longer befits its name. Life and joy once again fills the glorious kingdom of Eber and Leila. And before me is their eldest son, our most beloved Adam, no longer the poor Feathered Prince of my tale."

"I've seen you before, haven't I?" Adam looked intently at the gypsy, "You're-"

"Granny!! Granny Tzora!" Terrance cried happily, leaping out of the carriage and running to embrace the old woman. "I thought I'd never see you again, but when I saw Kris wielding that brand, I _knew_  it was yours!"

The old gypsy was speechless for a moment, and then tears spilled down her face, which crinkled up in rapturous laughter as she put her arms around her only grandson. "Little Terrance, light of my autumn years! It _is_  you..."

"All of a sudden, that explains so much," Kris muttered to Adam out the side of his mouth, "I'm gonna have to watch how I act around elders from now on."

"Maybe you can invite her to lunch, for a start," Adam suggested, grinning, "Without her help, I doubt there would've been any heroics at all."

"Pah. I'm not sharing my big hero chair with-" Kris started when he turned and caught sight of Adam's blistering glare. "I was only joking, Adam!!"

"Your Royal Highness?" the Captain addressed Adam, ruefully removing his helmet, "I know my men and I are undeserving; still, we hope you will accept our deepest apologies for how you were treated last night. If there is any way we can atone for it, you only have to speak the words."

"I can never begrudge anyone for doing their duty with such pure intentions as yours," Adam smiled kindly at the Captain, "All I ask is that you and your men continue to serve and protect Arkanseld and its Royal Family with the same dedication and love that has made you the pride of this kingdom."

The Captain bowed low, his solemn face betraying nothing, but there was a spring in his step as he strode ahead to inform the palace of the princes' arrival.

"Uh, about that..." Kris peered guiltily at Adam as they made their way up the palace steps.

"You'll have plenty of time to make it up to me later," Adam squeezed his hand briefly, "But right now, you might wanna brace yourself."

"Why?" The air was squeezed out of Kris when a hefty pair of arms closed around his middle and lifted him a foot off the ground. "Stuff me and roast me!" a voice bellowed into his ear, "He's back, and all in one piece, too!! Cale, get over here!"

"I'm trying!" Cale called back as he made his way laboriously across the floor, grasping a wooden crutch that took the weight off his heavily-bandaged right leg.

"So this is the chap we've all been falling over ourselves for," Charles released a gasping Kris and studied Adam calculatingly, "I knew you had leanings towards taller men, Kris. And of course you would. If you preferred men shorter than you, you wouldn't have a lot of options."

"Charles," Kris held up a hand, "I already said you were right, so you can stop talking now."

"Eh, did you?" Charles frowned in puzzlement, but before he could ask any more Kris stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his two childhood friends. "Dan and Adam told me everything you two did to help me," he said, "No one stands alone, not even-"

"Kristopher the Awesome!" Cale interjected excitedly, "Aided by his gallant brother, Prince Daniel. And of course, his best knight, the steadfast Sir Cale, and Charles the mighty sasquatch! And let us not forget his daring steed, Lady Camellia..." Cale's face fell at that moment, and his eyes turned moist. "And poor Norris, lost forever to some terrible fate in the dark forest."

"Only thing he'll be lost in now is a barrel of our best harvest," Kris grinned and clapped his loyal squire on the shoulder, "Why don't you head to the stables and make sure he doesn't choke on any peach pits?"

"You brought him back!!" cried Cale, joy flooding his face as he hugged Kris with his free arm, "Thank you, oh, thank you!" All else forgotten, he began to hobble gingerly down the palace steps. "Someone get me a cart, or something! I need to see my horse right now!"

"I suppose we shouldn't keep you from the big family reunion," Charles punched Kris lightly in the shoulder, "Go ahead, hero. Your pops is in the throne room." With that, he made his way down the stairs and bodily lifted a startled Cale - crutch and all - in his arms. "Fear not, Sir Cale! I will bear you swiftly away to your precious Norris!"

"They're really something, aren't they?" Adam remarked, chuckling, "I think that's the first time I haven't been able to get a single word into a conversation."

"They were talking about you like you weren't there," Kris scowled, "Maybe I'll make them polish your boots - one on each side, or something equally humbling..." Unable to keep up his sour expression any longer, he broke into an easy grin. "Let's all go meet the family."

"Speaking of bearing people away," Tommy mused as the small group made its way through the splendid receiving hall, "Kris is a Crown Prince, and so is Adam. When the time comes for them to rule side by side, one of our kingdoms is gonna have to give up its beloved heir to the other."

"Adam's leaving us forever??" gasped Sutan.

"Maybe you people can move here with him," Daniel suggested in all seriousness, "Because we sure aren't giving Kris up."

"Or we could all just fight it out," Tommy shrugged.

"Or," Adam cut in, "We could merge our kingdoms. Think about it! We're close enough in all respects of the word, and we have so much to share with one another."

"If we do, Adam," Kris added, "I'm making a new law so that royals can marry whoever they want, as long as that person is good and respectable."

"But the rules haven't been changed since the beginning of our age," Danielle frowned, "Aren't you boys getting a little ahead of yourselves?"

"Ah, the future!" Granny Tzora exclaimed, "The future is not for all to see."

Before they could argue any further, the doormen opened the throne room to them, and a hush fell over the group. There was a crowd gathered at the far end of the hall, composed of the King and Queen's relatives, some of the visiting royals who attended the ball the night before, and a handful of high-ranking palace staff.

"I can't believe he's really back!" Daniel cheered and ran ahead, deftly slipping past and disappearing behind the wall of people assembled about the throne. "Father! Father, it's me, Daniel!"

"You'll be fine," Adam whispered encouragingly, quickly picking up on Kris's mounting anxiety. "Don't stress over the details. He'll be really happy to see you, either way."

"My brother? Sure, he's right here!" came Daniel's voice from within the crowd. They looked around at Kris and parted to reveal a distinguished figure dressed in weather-worn red, blue, and white - the colours of Arkanseld's banner - standing next to his radiant Queen. There was no crown resting on his ash brown hair, which was turning silver at the sides; and his left arm was in a sling, but he looked no less than the famous king and hero that he was.

Kris smiled broadly and prepared his grand welcome. "Uh..."

"Kristopher..." King Neil nodded cordially at him, taking in his bandaged forehead and torn, dirt-stained clothes, "What the devil happened to you?"

"Um... possibly some of the same things that happened to you, Father..." Kris winced and waited for some kind of rebuke.

The King made his way over to Kris and clasped the younger man's shoulders in his large hands. Then, beyond all expectation, tears began to stream from the great King's eyes. "My dear son," he sobbed, pulling Kris into a firm embrace.

"Dad," Kris rasped, using the endearment for the first time as he clumsily but happily returned the gesture, "It's so good to see you. So, did you...?"

"Well, I suppose I did," said the King, turning to indicate the peculiar item resting on his throne, which seemed to have no definite shape and glowed star-bright with all the colours of a rainbow. "But I wanted to be surrounded by the ones I care for the most when I bestow this gift upon our kingdom. Now that both my sons are here, would you all please follow me to the grand balcony?"

Kris glanced back at Adam, spotting him and his friends trailing behind at a discreet distance. Princess Katherine had found them in the meantime, and she waved an enthusiastic greeting to Kris, looking resplendent in a gown of bright yellow. Adam grinned and motioned for Kris to go ahead.

Stepping out onto the grand balcony with his mother on his arm, Kris and the small assembly watched as King Neil raised the Heart of Faerieland high over his head to the cheers of his people in the streets below, whispering words in an ancient language never before heard in the land. The piece of Heart was at first no larger than an apple, but now it appeared to grow, rising from the King's hands and up into the clouds, casting a wonderful warmth over them all. For a brief moment, the entire sky over Arkanseld was alight with the most dazzling colours. But far too soon, that moment was over, and everything seemed ordinary again.

"And that's done," the King announced contentedly, "I expect my old friend King Eber will be doing the same back in his kingdom with Sir Nile's share of the Heart, as will the other brave souls who completed this quest with me."

"Dearest," Queen Kimberly began carefully, "About the Sunstone Kingdom-"

"GET OFF ME, YOU STUPID BIRD!!" Kris howled, frantically waving his arms to ward off the great crested hawk that had swept down right over his head. The regal-looking bird ignored him and flew straight to Adam, dropping in his hands the little scroll that it had been carrying in its talons. The assembly turned to stare curiously (some cautiously, due to the previous night's events) at Adam, as if they had just only noticed he was there.

"Dear Adam," Adam read the scroll out loud to his friends, not realizing that everyone present was listening to his every word, "All is fine here in sunny Sunstone, and the curse looks to be well and thoroughly broken. I know you must be having a ball over in Arkanseld, but don't stay too long before your parents have to forcibly retrieve you. Also, I'm rather thankful that I still remember how to speak Bird; and am no longer a creature of interest to your messenger's belly. He is called Orion, and he likes his meat very fresh. You know what to do. Love, Your Brother."

"Prince Azar...?" the Queen called.

" _Adam_ ," Kris mumbled, "His name is Adam."

"There was a curse??" the King's eyebrows shot up, "The things that happen in my absence! But young Prince Adam, you have grown so well since I last saw you. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"It's quite a long story, Your Majesty," Adam said, bowing low.

"And we hope to tell it," Kris joined, brushing imaginary hawk feathers off his shirt as he went to stand next to Adam, "After we've heard about your really long quest to find the Heart, of course." Only when he had finished speaking did Kris realize that Adam's fingers were entwined with his. Ever so slowly, heat began to creep up his neck.

"Hmm," the King smiled knowingly as he regarded the two princes, "We shall see which is the more intriguing of the two stories by the end of today's celebrations, to which all of your company is also invited, Prince Adam. And as for all these quests, may this be the last one I embark on. Whatever they say of me, I am but an ordinary man with a little daring and a little luck. I have already missed seeing my two boys grow into worthy men; and spent enough time away from my lovely and devoted wife." He took the Queen's hands in his and kissed them. "From now on, I will be a husband and father as much as I am a king."

"You certainly will, or I will chase you down myself to bring you home in time for dinner," the Queen smiled sweetly, but her courtiers knew that she meant every word. "Now, I'll have you cleaned and refreshed before you recount your thrilling tales to us..."

As the King and Queen departed to their chamber, most of the relatives, guests, and staff also dispersed, leaving Kris and Adam to decide what to do with their time, now that there was no sunrise to race or great evil to defeat.

Kris was the first to voice the burning question in both their minds: "So... what happens now, Adam?"

"Well," Adam said thoughtfully, "I suppose we can start by giving Orion some choice meats for his efforts. Then, you should have a bath and get that wound properly treated."

"I meant, after all that," Kris prompted.

"We could get me a change of clothes. I've been wearing this same outfit for three years straight, and I am _so_  over it."

"And... after _that_?" Kris pushed, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"I have _no_  idea whatsoever," Adam smirked, "But you'll get this right now-" He leaned in and planted a chaste little kiss on Kris's mouth, "And there's a lot more where that came from, _if_  you can catch me."

Kris blinked dumbly after Adam, who raced off down the hallway, laughing gaily, his nimble feet barely making a sound on the lush carpet. After a fair pause with no action on Kris's part, Daniel cleared his throat loudly to get his brother's attention, and pulled the golden promise ring out of his pocket.

"I took the liberty of retrieving this for you," he handed the enchanted heirloom to Kris and winked, "I'm thinking you might need it right about now."

Kris clasped the ring firmly in his hand and looked up at Daniel, Katherine, and Adam's friends, who looked expectantly back at him. Shaking his head and grinning so widely that his face hurt, Kris turned around and gave chase.

 

 =========================================

~ A happy ending is really the start of a wonderful new story. ~

=========================================

[ ](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Kbb13-featheredprince-390374719)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first - I'm indebted to my beta and biggest supporter, Rhyden, who helped me make this fic all it could be. Thank you so very much.
> 
> The lovely art you just saw was made by meilxoxo / cassandra_ml. Do leave her some feedback here! http://cassandra-ml.livejournal.com/67492.html
> 
> Finally, I'd love to know what you all thought about my fic! I've just started writing again after a long time, and I aim to improve so I may write some more. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed the read!


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